Hylia's Mission
by Frozen789
Summary: When a twister drags Link down to the Surface before he can lift the Goddess Sword, Fi bonds with the only other being capable of carrying out the Goddess Mission; the Spirit Maiden. As Zelda descends from the Sky, she finds a world far different from what she imagined. Not only does she need to rescue her friend, but save everything she holds dear from the throes of darkness.
1. Prologue

Introduction

A War of Unmatched Ferocity

_"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that...men [and woman] will still say, **This was their finest hour.****" **_

_**-**Sir Winston Churchill _

Thanks for coming to Hylia's Mission. Read on and enjoy!

_This is a tale you humans have passed through uncounted generations..._

_It tells of a war of unmatched ferocity, the likes of which would never be seen again. _

_One dark, fateful day the earth cracked open, and malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure._

_They mounted a brutal assualt upon the Surface people, driving the land into deep despair. They burnt forest to ash, choked the land's sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation. Undaunted, the Surface people fought back, their resolve unwavering._

_Lead by the Demon King, Demise, they did this in their lust to take the __**Ultimate Power **__guarded by Her Grace, the Goddess, Hylia._

_The power She guarded was without equal._

_Handed down by gods of old, this power gave the holder the means to make any desire a reality._

_Such was the might of the Ultimate Power, the old ones placed it in the hands of Her Grace, the Goddess to protect._

_To prevent this great power from falling into the hands of the evil swarming the lands... _

_The Goddess gathered the surviving humans on an outcropping of earth. She sent it skyward, beyond the reach of the demonic hordes. Beyond the clouds._

_With the humans safe, the Goddess joined forces with the Surface tribes, and fought the demons, sealing them away._

_At last peace was restored to the Surface._

_This is a tale that you humans have told for many generations..._

_But there are other legends intertwined with this tale, hidden from human memory._

_Now a new legend, bound to this tale will begin to unfold._

_One to be forged by Her Grace..._


	2. Chapter 1-Pain

**I don't own the Legend of Zelda Ever since beating Skyward Sword I've always wanted to do a story based on the game, or taking place during it. So here's my attempt; some of you who may have visited this before might notice some changes. I've proofread it more thoroughly and changed out some of the elements of the story. So read on and fave, follow, or leave a review. They make a world of difference for writers, as you may know. **

**Hylia's Mission**

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found a way out of those depths. -Elizabeth Kuber-Ross

Chapter 1 Pain

_ The monster stared at the woman standing in front of him, teeth clenched, hatred etched in every inch of his face. He was the ugliest thing, or being I'd ever seen. Black covered every inch of his body, except for a large streak of white on his chest and forehead. He had beady black eyes, and his hair, if you wanted to call it that, resembled a large bonfire, flaming out from his head. A black cloak was wrapped around his midsection, and the beast held an ugly, grizzled black blade in his right hand. _

_The woman represented the complete opposite of the monster. She was resplendent, arrayed in a gleaming white dress that rivaled the color of wispy clouds. Her neatly-arranged blonde hair gracefully draped halfway down her back unhindered, and her eyes were a shade of blue that perfectly matched the color of the sky. She seemed to literally embody the concepts of perfection, grace, beauty, and mercy. But her sky-blue eyes held a fire, a fire that would make anyone cower and run for their lives. _

_She raised her hands to the sky and white energy flowed from the heavens, striking the area around the monster. It swirled around him, trapping him in a vortex of pure light. _

_"Wretched Goddess," he spat at the woman in white. "Where is the ultimate power? The golden triangles." _

_"It's gone, beyond your reach. You'll never lay hands on it. It's to be protected by my beloved people," she responded, her voice as gentle as a morning breeze. _

_"What...you...you left it in the hands of humans. Curse you Hylia...they hid behind your skirts, pleading for your pitiful protection, while my monsters slew them in droves. They are weak..." _

_"They have the strength that you know not," Hylia cut in. "You lost because you underestimated them. Now, be gone Demon King." _

_She raised her hands towards the sky again, and a massive bolt of white light surged down from the heavens once more. It struck the monster itself, and radiated off of him, adding to the whirlpool circling faster and faster around him. _

_"This isn't over," he yelled as he vanished. "I will rise stronger than before. The ultimate power will be mine and the demon tribe shall rule over the Surface." _

"NOT TODAY!" Hylia shouted in a voice remseicent of thunder.

_ Before my very eyes, he transformed, for lack of a better word. His form vanished, replaced by a huge monster even uglier and more scary looking than the first one. It had no eyes, and resembled no creature I'd ever seen. Most of it's body was made up of a massive jaw, and it's skin was like chainmail armor, execpt it was black scale instead of metal. It roared, and one could see row upon row of teeth, each one large enough to cut through several trees at once. The whirlpool of light began to swirl faster and faster and the monster began to shrink. It roared again as it slowly vanished into the bottom of a massive pit..._

I let out a scream as I sat up in bed. My eyes flashed open, and I was overtaken by panic. My entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and I was breathing like I'd just completed a strenuous excercise course. My heart was beating so rapidly, it felt like it was about to explode out of my chest. Tears were leaking out of my eyes, flowing down my cheeks into my blonde hair. I buried my head in my hands, and swiped the sweat beading on my forehead. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the dream, which had been burned onto the back of my eyelids, out of my mind. I shuddered, trying to calm myself.

My body continued to shake for some time before I realized where I was, still in my bed, in the Knight Academy, perfectly safe. Slowly, my heartbeat lessened and my breathing returned to normal, allowing my brain to clear and the questions to start swirling. _Why, why this same dream? Why does it have to cut off my sleep?_ This very dream had been tormenting me for weeks on end, but it had never triggered a reaction like what I had been through. I counted the hours of sleep I've been accumulating over the last week and came up with a dismal number. _Stupid dreams, costing me hours of sleep._

I looked out my window and saw that it was night. _How did I end up here after nearly getting sucked down that tornado?_ And how can it be night? Then a single thought hit me with the speed of a diving Loftwing; _LINK! LINK! Where are you?._ I whimpered as I remembered what had happened earlier today. It was supposed to be the greatest moment of our lives.

Flashback

Me and Link was flying together on our two Loftwings, Ruby and Vella. I was trailing him a little, taking advantage of his Crimson Loftwing's updrafts, and giving Vella an easier ride._ Come on Zelda, you can do this. Three, two, one here goes..._ I urged Vella to speed up a little bit, so that Link and I was flying side by side. I couldn't help but notice how handsome he was, his dirty blonde locks flying in the wind, his dreamy, misty blue eyes, and the way..._Zelda, concetrate, not now!_

"Link!" I called, catching his attention. "First, I think your flying was amazing. I've never seen anything like that before." He didn't respond, but continued to give me his undivided attention, so I pushed on.

"The Wing Ceremony, I was so glad I was able to do it with you," I said, now ready to tell him the thing that had been burning deep in my heart for well over a year now. I paused and looked down briefly, trying to put it into words. Nothing came to mind, so I decided to just go for it. "Link I need to tell you something..."

A massive gust of wind slammed into me, Link and our two Loftwings, Ruby and Vella. I choked on some particle matter that the wind was carrying, cutting off what I was going to say. My bangs whipped into my eyes, temporarily blinding me as I finally opened them and beheld the most terrible sight I'd ever seen in my life (dreams don't count). A massive black tornado had risen out of the clouds, right in front of us. And we were flying right towards it!

"LINK!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, fright evident in every syllable of my voice.

"Bank to the right and dive, head for Skyloft at top speed," Link yelled back to me, completely calm, not a sign of fright in his voice. He always had a unique gift for being able to remain calm in situations like this. _ How is he able to manage that? He's such a genius...Zelda snap out of it! _

The two of pulled on the ropes attached to our Loftwing's necks at the same time. Vella cawed as she banked, complaining a little bit as the winds continued to buffet the four of us. Link and his Loftwing imitated us, both of us aiming to dodge the black monster that was in front of us. But the tornado banked with us, keeping in front of us despite our turn, as if it was a living, breathing being. _How is this even possible? Tornados don't do that!_

It found what it seemed to be looking for; it engulfed me and Vella in it's terrifying winds, causing my Loftwing to spin out of control. I screamed as the winds buffeted me and destroyed my hair that I'd spent so much time on this morning. The beads in my hair flew off, and patches of my Ceremonial garb were torn clean off, vanishing into the tornado's depths.

"Zelda, hold on, I'm coming," came clearly above the sounds of the twister.

I looked up to see Link, in a deep dive heading straight towards me. His Crimson Loftwing dove right into the heart of the twister. I watched in awe as Ruby powered through the winds, his mighty wings tearing the twister to shreds. The disturbance tore the twister apart; Vella saw her opportunity and took it, shooting for the clear sky.

"Grab my hand Zelda." Link swooped in above me, extending one of his hands. Standing up on my mount, I reached out for him. He came closer and closer, and I knew this was probably my only chance for survival should the twister reform.

"Vella, steady girl," I encouraged, feeling a pang of guilt shoot into my chest as I was about to abandon her in the middle of our predicament. Link came swooping in his hand just slightly higher than I could reach. I extended on my tiptoes..._Just a little bit farther, please work_...until our fingers interlocked. He grabbed my arm with both hands, and I was snatched off of Vella, with the result that I was now dangling off of Ruby, with no land or islands below me. "

LINK! HELP!" I called, fright evident in my voice. This seemed to give Link an extra boost. Heaving, he pulled me up, and onto Ruby.

"Thank you.." I said, almost ready to kiss him. Another gust of wind buffeted us, and threw me off of Ruby. I tumbled down only a short distance when Vella caught me. I crashed onto her back on my stomach, feeling the wind getting knocked out of me. It was all I could do to hold on, as I gasped for breath as Vella recovered from the wind blast, flattened out, and went into a right turn.

"Lin..." What I saw next made my heart stop. The tornado reformed, stronger than it was before. Execpt this time it didn't go for me, it went for Link. "Link, hang on," I shouted. The tornado surrounded the indomitable pair, and became so opaque I couldn't see what was happening inside. This wasn't supposed to be happening; things like this only happened in dreams and fantasy, not real life. The tornado cleared and...

"LINK NOOOO!" I shouted, sitting back down on Vella, and urging her to dive right into the heart of the twister. Vella didn't hesitate. She went into a seventy degree dive and plunged into the mass of winds that was taking my friend. I could barely see him as he fell, into the twister's depths. He locked eyes with me, briefly for a moment, and the world seemed to slow down. I reached out for him, as he had done for me, but it was too late. There was little I could do, but feel my heart break as his fingers slipped through mine and he vanished, consumed by the black winds.

"No, no, no," I muttered, my heart crying out in pain, tears creeping out of the corners of my eyes. My vision became spotty as I realized that we'd lost control again. The tornado forcefully ejected me and Vella, thrusting us out into the open sky. Something hard slammed into my head and the world began to spin. Clear blue sky returned to my vision, but only for a brief second.

"L...i...n...k," I muttered as the blackness closed in on my irises.

xxxxxxx

Spurred on by the flashback, I started to get off my bed, when the door opened and my father Gaepora, headmaster of the Knight Academy, came into the room, still dressed in his clothes from the day. I was half on, half off my bed by this time, but he ushered me all the way back onto it.

"Father," I said, panic in my voice. "Did Link come back yesterday?"

I knew the answer before he'd even said it.

"No." The words crushed my heart more than seeing Link vanish. I broke down and hot tears began to stream down my cheeks, into my blonde hair. My father took me into an embrace, whispering words of comfort to me as I sobbed for what seemed like hours. Slowly the tear streams became smaller and lessened as I cried until the tears finally stopped.

"Father," I choked. "Can't you search for him? Please?"

"No Zelda."

"Why?" I asked, even though I clearly knew the answer to that.

"Zelda, you know it's too dangerous. Even our knights don't dare venture farther than the area around Skyloft at night."

"But..."

"I'm sorry," he said.

I whimpered as any hope that I had left was shattered into a thousand pieces. Tears found their way out of my eyes again; I couldn't stand it anymore. I did the only thing I could think of; I tried to get up, actually succeeding this time, but I only made it a short way off my bed before I collapsed, landing on the ground with a thud.

"Zelda!" my father said, shocked.

He lifted me to my feet, and began to escort me back to my bed. I gave into the despair and misery tormenting my heart, and didn't put up any resistance as he placed me back from where I'd started from.

"Father...please."

"No Zelda, you need to rest," he said. "Now, I need to know what happened out there. Your Loftwing came back from your flight, suppporting you, but you were unresponsive. Ruby hasn't shown up, neither has Link."

Sighing, I told him the entire story, from when we took off (leaving out what I was going to tell Link, of course), to the black twister, and what Link had done to save me, how the twister had suddenly intensified, and... I couldn't finish it. My father simply nodded with understanding as the pain washed over me again.

"Please, father, can we go looking for him, I need to," I pleaded. "I _have_ to."

"No Zelda," my father said. "If Link's with his Crimson Loftwing he should be fine. You know how strong the bond between those two is. Besides, it's nearly dawn; I'll launch a search for Link and his Loftwing when the sun rises. He'll be back before breakfast."

"Okay," I said, laying back down onto the bed in defeat. _Please Hylia, Nayru, Din, and Farore, keep Link safe. Return him to me, whole, and in one piece. I'll do anything, anything to see him again. _

My father left the room, closing the door behind him. I collapsed onto my bed, on my back, but I couldn't sleep; I just stared aimlessly, looking out my window that faced the direction where I last saw my best friend, the memory of it tormenting me still. I'd been staring at it for some time when a blue thing flashed by outside, flitting by so fast I couldn't get a good look at it, and briefly wondered for a moment if I was seeing things. I slowly got up off my bed, and walked to the window and peered out, trying to what was lurking outside.

"Her Grace," came from behind me.

I shrieked, tearing my gaze away from the window. My eyes scanned my room, seraching for the source of the voice, landing on a blue-purple girl floating in the air at eye level, staring at me. She had pupiless blue eyes, a blue, ruby on her chest, and her purple and blue arms were more like cloaks than, well arms. I probably should have been scared stiff, but instead, I was calm, and had a strong impression I'd seen whatever this was before. _Why does she look so familiar?_

"Her Grace," it said again. "Please follow me. This concerns the one you call Link."

I froze when she mentioned Link's name; hope bloomed into my chest, and I couldn't help but trust her. In my normal state, I probably would've hung back, as was my nature, but that girl was gone, lost with the twister. Somehow, she had something to do with Link, something that could lead to me to him. I slid off my bed, and followed her. Slowly she hovered in front of me, moving away as I moved closer to her.

"What? Wait, where are you going?" I asked as the ghost girl 'flew' backwards and vanished through my door. I walked to the door, which now had a blue glow shining faintly around the edges. When I trusted my feet, that they wouldn't give out from under me, I grabbed the knob and pushed the door open. The ghost girl was floating in the hallway, above the stairs.

I slipped out of my room, slowly closing it behind me, trying to be quiet (something that I'm terrible at). I walked towards the ghost girl, only to see her move away farther and further away the closer I would get, like she'd done in my room. I was so focused on her that I wasn't watching where I was going. "Oh, ah, aahahhhhh," I screamed, as I forgot about the stairs.

"Ouch! Oh! Ow!" and many other things I said as I crashed down one stair after another, after another.

CRASH.

I sprawled out at the foot of the stairs, and lay there for a few minutes, lying on my back, nursing my minor injuries. I was used to the pain; I do this all the time. Tripping down stairs and over things is my best talent, even to the point that Link always walks slightly ahead of me, ready to catch me should I trip. He usually only succeeds about half the time. _ Why am I so clumsy?_

I couldn't hear any other sounds issue from anywhere else in the academy as a result of my ungraceful fall, but I didn't care. I got to my feet again, and saw the ghost girl leave through the main doors. I tiptoed to them and slowly pushed the bulky doors open, and peered outside into the night. The blue girl was floating directly outside the academy, and flew off when I went outside.

"Wait," I called out. "Please."

I broke into a run, but she kept moving away a good distance ahead of me. She kept getting farther and ahead of me despite my best efforts to catch up to her. Skyloft at night is beautiful, but still can be deadly. More than one has fallen off or been injured by the Remlits and Keese that roam the island at night. The ghost girl leads me along a strange path, in which I had to climb a few walls, and even clamber up some vines to follow her. After a while I saw that we were coming to the Statue of the Goddess by a way I didn't know had existed. When I climbed the last vines and found myself in front of the statue, I saw her levitating above the ground, at the base of the massive edifice.

"Wait...pl...who...wa...what..who are you? And...what...does...Lin...k have..have to..to do with this?" I said, panting heavily. The ghost girl didn't answer me, instead disappearing into the foot of the statue. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped in shock as a black hole appeared in the base of the statue. _What...magic...impossible...no..._it was supposed to have ceased thousands of years. _Whatever. _I raised what courage I possessed, walked to the newfound entrance, and peered inside. My eyes saw nothing but darkness, failing to penetrate to what was inside.

"Her Grace," came from within.

With a little trepidation, I went inside, my footsteps echoing off the walls. I was in a passageway that descended to who knows where; I could see some light ahead of me and I cautiously walked towards it. Dust kicked up at my feet as I walked inside, indicating that no one had been here to clean for quite some time. My gaze was immediately attracted upward to see many pillars vanishing into the gloom above me, their size dwarfing anything that I'd ever seen before. After scanning the upper area of the chamber, my eyes alighted on a sword, sunk into the floor right in front of me.

Only the upper half of the sword was visible; the rest of it was sunk into the stone. Directly beyond that was an altar, like the ones that are erected yearly during the festival we hold to honor the Goddess Hylia. I took a step towards the sword, my curiosity getting the best of me, with hundreds of thoughts racing through my head. When I was within a few steps of the sword, a blue ball of light appeared out of the hilt. It expanded and the ghost girl appeared out of midair. She "stood" on the ground, in front of me and bowed.

"Her Grace," she said again.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Her Grace?' I asked. "And what does this have to do with Link?" _Please tell me. _

"Peace, Spirit Maiden," she said, calling me by yet another name.

"As is your custom, I will provide my given designation. My name is Fi, the name given to me by my Creator."

"Where's Link?" "A great destiny lies before you Spirit Maiden," Fi continued. "I've been waiting for you for millennia. In the name of my Creator, pick up this sword."

I moaned in frustration; why wouldn't she tell me what she knew? I didn't move forward. Too many questions were still swirling about my brain, including_ Is this even supposed to be happening? What does this have to do with Link?_ I hesitated for a moment, during which Fi seemed to read my mind.

"Ah, yes, uncertainity about the one you hold dear, and the disturbances plaquing your dreams."

Plaquing is an understatement. Tormenting is a better word for it, literally. I held my breath, anxious for Fi to continue her speech.

"Let me share some information. I calculate it has a high probability of altering your current emotional status. The one you hold dear, the one you call Link, is still alive."

_He's still alive! _

"He is alive. I sense his presence on land the you call the Surface. Now, will you not pick up this sword before you go to search for him?" Fi said. "It will aid you in your quest."

All questions and doubts were swept away from my mind. I raced forward to seize the sword. No other choice. Just as I reached the stairs that lead up to the sword, she levitated up off the ground, floating in the air above me. I paused, and locked eyes with her, wondering what she was up too.

"It appears further persasive methods will not be nessecary," she said.

"Now, in the name of my Creator, draw the sword and raise it Skyward."

I climbed the few steps up to the sword and grasped the hilt with trembling hands. I tugged on the blade, and drew it from the pedestal. My jaw dropped when it came free quite easily, as if it wasn't even in the ground to begin with. My hands rejoiced, as if they were meeting a long lost friend; they didn't want to let go of the sword. Slowly, I raised the silver tip to the sky. Purple energy filled the blade beginning at the tip of the sword and radiating down to the hilt. I could feel it in my hands, the sword humming with all the energy it's now holding.

"Reconition complete, Mistress, Her Grace," Fi said. "That is the Goddess Sword. It was placed here by the Goddess Hylia millennia ago to assist her Chosen. This behind me is a Skyward Crest; swing the blade down and perform what is called the Skyward Strike."

I lowered the Goddess Sword from the sky and swung it at the crest. The energy in the sword collected at the tip and formed a blue beam, which collided with the crest. The crest lit up and spun a couple of times, levitating off the ground. Amazed, I just stared at the Goddess Sword. Never had I seen a blade like this one. Excitement flooded my body, penetrating to my core. I had a way, however strange it may be, to save my best friend. _Link, I'm going to save you if it's the last thing I do._

"ZELDA!" someone called out from behind me.

I jumped back in surprise, tripping on the hem of my dress.

"Whooo, ahhhh," I said as I tripped backwards and tumbled down the stairs, the sword clattering down beside me.

When I finally reached the bottom (it was only like 3-4 stairs), sprawled out on my back (again), the Goddess Sword lying beside me, my blonde hair scattered all over the floor, my father's upside down face appeared overhead with a concerned look on it.

"Are you alright Zelda?" he asked, extending a hand to me.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said, taking his hand, and allowing him to pull me up. "Thanks fa..."

Reconition hit me of what the scene must look like. I'm out of bed, out of bounds, in a hole in the base of the Statue of the Goddess that isn't supposed to be here, wielding a sword.

"Father...its..um...oh no..where do I begin..just...go...I uh...go back to the Academy...I uhh...um..."

"I'll be," my father said. "I've been suspecting something for some time. The sword started glowing a few days ago, I thought it was just a trick of the light, but I was wrong. And to think it's my own daughter, I'm amazed."

"Papa," I said, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I never thought the prophecy would come to pass in my day," he said, ignoring my question.

"What prophecy?"

"_When the light of the goddess's sword shines bright, the great apocalypse will wake from its long slumber. Do not fear, for it is then that a youth, guided by my hand, shall be revealed in a place most sacred_," he recited.

"What? Wait," I said, when a shocking possibility popped into my brain. "Does that refer to me?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that it does," he said, turning his gaze to Fi, still floating above me. "_There is another prophecy passed down from ancient times also. The youth will be guided by one born of the blade; one who is also youthful in likeness yet wise with knowledge_ immeasurable."

Fi listened to my father had finished. Then she spoke again. "Ah, the oral tradition, the least reliable way for passing on information," she said. Fi "landed" on the ground again and 'bowed' to us again.

"Spirit Maiden. The prophecy in full states; "_The youth who draws forth the guiding sword shall be known as the Spirit Maiden. She shall be burdened with the task of abolishing the shadow of apocalypse from the land. Such is her destiny. With the spirit of the blade at her side, she shall soar over the clouds and plummet below...And united with the Hero, shall bring forth a piercing light that resurrects the land_."

_Spirit maiden...guiding sword...destiny..apocalypse...Hero..._these words reverberated through my mind as I pondered their meaning. It must mean me and Link! Hero..._sounds like a good name for him_.

"Zelda, but how will you get down to the Surface, our Loftwings cannot penetrate the cloud barrier," my father said, looking at me helplessly.

"There is a way, prepared by my Creator eons ago," Fi said, holding out her arms.

_Who is her creator? _

She extended her arms in front of her; a green ball of light appeared, and floated through the air to me, coming to rest in my hands. It revealed a well worn chunk of rock, with a green symbol on it. It was very old, worn, and had seen better day. It had jagged edges, like those you find on a piece of a puzzle.

"That is the Emerald Tablet," Fi informed me. "Place it in the depression in the wall beyond the altar. It will reveal a hole in the cloud barrier where you may descend."

Trembling for some reason, I walked slowly up the steps again, which I just had tumbled down a few minutes ago, and placed the tablet where Fi had instructed me. A green burst of light shot out of it immediately, causing me to shriek again.

"Uhhh," I said, tripping over the hem of my ceremonial dress, ripping it in the process, landing on my back. _Not again! _

"Zelda, why are you so clumsy?" my father asked, shaking his head.

"I don't know," I said, as he helped me to my feet.

"Spirit Maiden," Fi said."Your clothes aren't fit for the journey ahead."

I took a look down at my Ceremonial Dress. It was ripped in many places, and entire pieces were missing from the handwoven fabric entirely. I sighed when I remembered how much effort I'd put into it, making it perfect for Link.

"Spirit Maiden," Fi said, conjuring up another green ball of light.

I once again held out my hands to receive Fi's second gift. Instead of a dusty old tablet, it was a white dress, a pair of sandals, a couple bracelets, and white/blue hair beads. I fingered the dress, feeling the cloth, and finding it to be of the finest quality. The sandals looked quite comfortable, and their straps were woven into the form of the Skyloftian crest, like the one I'd just activated a few minutes ago.

"I'll be with you Spirit Maiden as you embark on your journey," Fi informed me, disappearing into the sword.

My father put his arm around my shoulders. I locked eyes with him, seeing pride and affection, not anger.

"Zelda," he said. "I exhort you to carry through with the mission that you've been destined for. No doubt Link is coming to terms with what awaits him. Just do me one favor please?"

"What's that father?" I asked.

"Come home my daughter," he said, tears forming in his eyes.

"And bring Link back too. He was like the son I never had." I embraced him. "I will," I said, also shedding tears as . In the midst of the flurry of emotions that I was experiencing, a terrible realization flooded up into my chest. "But I probably won't be your little daughter anymore."

That was all I sure of. The only other thing I had was hope, hope that Link would be alright and that I'd find him, and finally be able to confess my feelings for him. That's all I have to go on right now. Together, me and my father walked from the chamber and into the night.


	3. Chapter 2-Beginning

**Thanks to Guest, Ayako Zetra, and RickGiriamax for their reviews and input. Thanks to them and the all views (more than any of my other stories had this early in development). There might be some grammar and other imperfections that I'll iron out later. I'll answer the reviews in each chapter, as they arrive. I'd like at least one per chapter. **

Hylia's Mission

"We gain strength, and courage and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face...we must do that which we think we cannot."-Eleanor Roosevelt

**Chapter 2-Beginning **

I tossed and turned in my bed, trying to get comfortable: I even punched my pillow a couple of times as my frustration mounted. Nothing worked as my mind was still buzzing with everything I'd just seen and heard. What had happened was supposed to be impossible, yet it had just happened before my very eyes.

The sheer absurdity of it, combined with the fact that had actually happened, all conspired to keep me awake. Slowly the hours crawled by, until I gave up and just laid on my back, waiting for the break of dawn so I could fly, trying to keep hope alive, even as my nerves started to build and doubts threatened to darken my mind.

For years I'd been dreaming about the Surface, and even though Link was missing, I was about to get my chance to see it with my own eyes. But all my daydreams, I'd had about it usually involved me and Link exploring it together, not this. _Oh Link, hang on, I'm coming. Just a few more hours... _

_The Hero, clad in his signature green tunic and with his sword hanging from his waist, strode into the room, and bowed. _

_"Link arise," said a voice that was so gentle, yet radiated so much power. _

Link rose to his feet, and finally could take in his surroundings.

_His jaw dropped; he was standing the most beautiful room, he'd ever laid eyes on. It still looked like the Temple of Hylia, but completely redecorated. It's granite walls had been replaced with the finest white marble, plush velvet carpet covered the once bare floors, and ornately colored chairs dotted the structure, each of them letting off a pale blue glow. _

_In the middle of this stood Hylia, respledent in her white dress, a harp held in her right hand, and a majestic sword in her left. Link wasn't sure how to address such a being. He was still in shock over the events of yesterday; they had expected some help, but to have a Goddess descend from the skies was something he'd never fathomed in his wildest dreams. And he couldn't stop staring at her; she was just so beautiful. _

_"Link," she said. "You have no need to bow to me. Consider me as one of you. We are all fighting for the same goal; to rid this land of the Demon King and save our people." _

_"But you're a Goddess," he protested. "The White Goddess to be exact." _

_"Link," she interrupted. "I'm glad that you think so highly of me." _

_ She looked away and dabbed some tears from her eyes. Link was stunned; why would a Goddess need to cry? _

_"If you only knew half of what has happened, you might have a different opinion." "What?" Link said, confused and shocked at the same time. _

_"I've made many mistakes," the Goddess confessed, still not meeting Link's eyes."And my people have paid the price for every one of them." _

_ For once, the her confident facade had dropped. For once Link saw vulnerability, human emotion, a tinge of mortality. It made him more determined than ever to help her beat back the threat trying to destroy their land. She turned to face him again, her tears wiped away, her facade firmly in place. _

_"But I won't let it happen anymore, without me there to experience it with them. I've come up with a plan, but I need your help to execute it. But, I must share some information that might turn your noble heart black. It might cause you to turn against our people against me. Are you strong enough to bear it? Will you prove worthy enough, as noble as your soul is?"_

_"Of course Her Grace," he said, his voice full of the unbreakable spirit she so admired. "I'd be honored." _

_"I'm sorry Link," Hylia said. "But I had to imprison you, to prove yourself worthy of holding this." _

_Hylia held out a blade that looked similar to the Goddess Sword. _

_"Only the pure in heart can wield this blade... _

Blue light flashed through my eyelids as the vision faded from my eyes. As sleep fled my eyes, it wasn't hard to find the culprit; Fi was standing above me, rotating in mid-air.

"Fi, please don't interrupt me when I'm sleeping."

"Yes my Mistress," Fi said in a voice that didn't contain a hint of remorse. "I suggest you gather heart and stamina potions, water, food, and glass bottles. I calculate a 99% chance this will increase your odds of survival on the Surface."

Moaning, I rubbed my eyes, as my thoughts drifted back to what I had just beheld. These visions had been happening to me for months, cutting deeply into precious hours of sleep, and putting more strain on me than ever before. They'd never made any sense, no matter how much me and Link discussed them.

"Spirit Maiden," said Fi's voice again, jerking me out of my train of thought.

"What?"

"The Sun has risen," Fi said, floating over me again. "Your Loftwing will now be able to carry you to the hole in the clouds created by the tablet. I also suggest that you take the Harp along with you. It might play a major part in your journey."

She turned into a small blue ball and vanished into the hilt of the sword, which was lying against the wall. _Harp, what good will a musical instrument be on a journey like this? _ Shaking my head in frustration, I pushed all the questions out of my mind and replaced them with a single thought; Zelda, it's time to show what you are made of. I got to my feet and made my way over to my wardrobe. I threw the doors open and picked out a bag me and Link had put together for my fourteenth birthday. It was originally meant for our little escapades, but what made it ideal for a situation like this was that it very large, it was made of fine leather, and had a lot of room to store things in.

Next was the glass bottles. I had three stashed in my room, amongst the books in my bookcase. The two of us had used them over the years, primarily for our devious tricks and sneaking pumpkin juice from the kitchen. We took so much that Henya, when she finally figured out how all her juice kept vanishing, gave us the worse punishment possible; cleaning the kitchens for a month under her supervision. I rummaged through the books on the bookcase, carelessly tossing them aside onto the floor, locating the glass bottles, one by one.

I stuffed them inside the satchel, being careful not to shatter them. I pulled off the torn ceremonial dress that I'd worn for the past twenty four hours, and tossed it carelessly aside on the discarded books. I took the clothes Fi had given me late last night and put them on. When I'd finished, I did a few twirls in front of my vanity mirror, examining my reflection and liking what I was seeing. The dress began high up on my neck, ending well below the knees.

The neckline of the dress was emboidered with golden patterns that looked like the feathers of a Loftwing, and the sleeves were oversized, hanging off my arms. It enabled a wide variety of movement as well, rivaling that of the knight uniform that the Senior Class wore (I tried one on once without my father's permission). The sandals fit snugly to my feet, their straps woven into the form of the Skyloftian Crest. As for my hair, I decided on a simple style, letting my golden blonde hair flow freely down my back, wrapping two strands of my bangs with the blue beads Fi had provided me. When I'd finished, I examined myself one more time in my vanity mirror to see the final result. I look like the Statue of the Goddess.

.Right from the dress to down to my hair, I resembled her in every way. That was when it happened. My image in the mirror changed before my very eyes. It was still my reflection (or was it?), but, different. The girl staring back at me wore a crown or circlet, around her forehead, and she was faintly radiating a white glow, like that of a Goddess. Her sky-blue blue eyes bore back at me, giving me the impression she was staring into my soul.

_Sister, look...__**remember**_.

The gentle voice warmed over me, reverbating into the pits of my bones, as familiar as the voice of a mother. Probably due to it, or some other factor, everything ceased to exist except for me, the voice, and the image in the mirror. A feeling of familiarity bloomed into my chest, flooding into every fiber of my being. She, the reflection, was _me. _I moved forward, involuntarily, and reached out to touch the image from my past...

A bang out in the hall snapped me back to reality. I had moved during the trance, my hand extended a mere inch from the mirror. I checked the mirror to see if, what had just happened was actual reality or not. I only saw my own reflection, no circlet, or pale glow, or peaceful voice. _What is going on here? All these visions, trances what could they mean? Wait, could they be...impossible...but..._I sighed in frustration at all the mysterious happenings; none of this mattered, only finding Link.

I dove under my bed and rummaged through the trash I stockpiled there over the years, pulling out a scarab that I'd received when I graduated to the Junior Class on my fifteenth birthday. I put the sword into it, and was about to strap it to my waist when I heard voices outside in the corridor.

"...I know..." said a voice outside my room.

"We should get some food from Henya," said another voice in response.

"I'll get the blankets, why don't you go get Link while I wake up Zelda?" said Karane's voice.

"Okay," replied Pippit's voice._ Karane and Pippit, what in name of...oh no, the picnic!_

I clapped my hand to my forehead in despair. Link and I had promised to have a picnic with them the day after the Wing Ceremony! But now that was impossible; Link was gone and I needed to go rescue him, as soon as possible. I couldn't see how I was going to get out of this one. As quick as I could, I stuffed the sword as best as I could into the satchel, and tossed them under the bed. Karane's footsteps slowly grew louder as she drew closer to my room. I tried to tidy up as much as possible, and sat down on my bed to make it look like nothing was happening. She burst in, without knocking as usual. She was wearing her tan knight uniform, and her hair was in it's signature two-braid hair style.

"Zelda, good..."

She looked me over, taking in every inch of my newly acquired dress, sandals, and my destroyed room.

"Zelda...wow. Where did you get that outfit? It's gorgeous. And why is your bedroom a mess? And where is Link, I haven't seen him all morning?"

"Well, I, I...I made this...along with my ceremonial clothes," I said, trying to sound like my usual happy, bubbly-self. "I just haven't tidied up yet this morning and I haven't seen Link yet."

"I see," she said, a suspicious look on her face. "You do remember that we have the picnic later today? Do you need some help cleaning up?"

"Yes I do," I said.

"Sure," Karane said.

Working together, it didn't take long to tidy up. I was hoping to avail myself of an opportunity to escape, but none presented itself. I was careful to keep her away from my bed; if she saw what I had been packing, that would prove to be a disaster. Pippit walked after about five minutes of cleaning.

"Link's not in his room," he said. "It doesn't even look like his bed has been slept in.

"What?" Karane said. "Are you sure? Link almost never gets up early."

"Positive," Pippit said. "Karane..."

_I'm in serious trouble._

"Zelda, have you seen Link?" Karane queried, her brown eyes latching onto me.

"No," I said, half-truthfully. "I haven't seen him since last night."

They have no idea how big of a wound those words tore at my heart.

"Well, should we go look for him?" Karane said. "If something has happened to him..."

"You didn't hear did you?" Pippit said.

"Hear what?"

"A tornado hit him and Zelda as they were out flying together."

What?

"How...how...how do you know?" I asked, trying to keep my voice normal. "The Headmaster told me."

"Zelda...what's wrong?" Karane said.

Unbidden, tears had worked their way out of the corner of my eyes, despite my best efforts. I grabbed my bag out from under my bed, hoping that Karane and Pippit wouldn't notice the sword stuffed inside of it. I pushed past them and out into the corridor, trying to avoid looking at them, wiping the tears off of my blotchy red cheeks.

"Zelda, where are you going?" Karane asked.

"Karane, I _can't _tell you," I said. "Please, trust me when I say that it's for your own good that you don't know."

My refusal traced back to Father had told not long after we had both witnessed the events in the chamber under the Statue of the Goddess.

"Zelda, it would be best if the people of Skyloft knew nothing of the events that are transpiring on the Surface," my father told me before leaving my room for the last time that night.

"Are you sure?" I queried, confused.

"Yes Zelda," he said. "Rumor travels faster than fact, and often is the basis for hasty decisions that cause disastrous consequences."

"But Zelda..."

"Please Karane, when I say I can't tell you, I can't. Please, just leave me alone. I'm going to look for Link."

Karane looked at Pippit for support; he only shrugged his shoulders. She then gave him a mutinous look that would make most boys cringe. Seizing the opportunity, I ran down the stairs, leaving them standing near my room. I walked towards the kitchen, anxious to get going as soon as possible. To my pleasant surprise, Henya was standing near the door, with a platter of dried-out fruit, bread, and a couple flasks of pumpkin juice.

"The Headmaster told me about your mission," she said. "I got up early this morning and made this for you."

I put what she had prepared into my bag and gave her hug.

"Thank you," I whispered into her ear.

"No problem dear," she whispered back.

We broke apart and I threw the doors of the Knight Academy open, running outside. I headed for the Bazaar, intent on procuring the last of what I would need before I would finally make the plunge to the Surface. I squeezed inside one of the entrances and into Skyloft's central marketplace. It was busy today; people from all over the sky islands were present, going in and out of the shops, bartering with stall owners, and buying and trading everything from pumpkins to arrows.

I squeezed my way through the crowd, taking special care not to run into anyone that I and Link know. I did see Cawlin and Stritch visiting what appeared to be a bug shop. Normally it would've interested me, but Link's disappearance had changed all that. Nothing else mattered except getting him back home safely. I headed for the stall that Luv and her husband ran.

"Hi Luv," I said in my usual cheery voice, slipping behind the counter and giving her a hug.

"Good morning Zelda," Luv replied as we broke our embrace.

"That's quite the outfit dear."

"Thanks Luv, I made it myself along with my Ceremonail Dress."

"Well, you are quite the tailor. How may I help you today?"

"A Heart and a Stamina Potion please," I said, handing over two glass bottles.

Luv ladled some red and green potion into them and handed them back to me. "That'll be Twenty Rupees dear," she said. "What might they for?"

"Uh, just training," I invented. "You know how hard they drive us at the Knight Academy."

"Of course I do," she replied with a smile, buying the story.

I handed over a red rupee and stuffed the bottles into my bag. _Almost ready, just a few more things_.

"Thanks Luv."

"Take care Zelda."

I obtained some water from a fountain in the Bazaar, and then I headed for the stall ran by Pippit's mother. She sold all sorts of dried-out food and survival trinkets, some of which I couldn't find at the Knight Academy kitchen.

"Hello Zelda," she said in her sweet voice. "Nice outfit. What will it be today?"

"Some of your dried-out food please. And could you throw in some of your energy snacks while you are at it."

"Sure," she said, turning around to get what I had requested. She started pulling down various items from her shelves and piling them on the counter in front of me. After a few minutes of this, I heard a voice, the last that I wanted to hear in a situation like this. "Zelda."

I turned on my heel to see my least favorite person in the world at this moment, Groose running towards me, his ugly arms extended.

"Thanks goodness you're alright," he said. "I heard what happened. I can't believe you weren't taken too."

_He heard what had happened? Is Dad insane...wait, unless the redhead overheard Karane and Pippit talking about it. _He tried to hug me, but I resisted. It became a confused strangling match for a few minutes, with me squirming with all my might in his crushing embrace. before I finally succeeded in extricating myself from his suffocating (I mean literally) grasp.

"Enough!" I shouted at him. "I asked you not to do that."

A sheepish grin crept across his face. _Did he even register what I just said?_

"You weren't being serious, were you?"

"I was deadly serious," I said in the most dangerious voice I could muster. "Now move."

"Zelda, why did you go flying with a coward that can't even endure a little gust of wind?"

He'd officially pushed me over the edge. Raw fury erupted in me like a rapidly spreading firestorm; how dare he provoke me in my current emotional state.

"That wasn't a little gust of wind," I shouted at him. "And at least he's not a cheater, and a freak like you are."

I started to storm off when Groose grabbed me by the shoulders forcefully turned me around to face him.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

"Don't worry Zelda," he said, switching to his 'sweet talk'. "I'll always be there for you. I'd would have saved you from that tornado."

I stopped struggling;_ did he really just say that? _My fury broke.

**Slap! **

I slapped him across the face with all my might, so hard, he toppled to the ground, landing face-first on my feet. He didn't seem to believe it, looking up at me with shock and hurt burning in his eyes.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, especailly after all you've done to Link," I snarled, fury coursing through my veins. "Leave us alone, you filthy, arrogant toerag."

I stormed off, running towards the nearest diving platform. As much as I hated to admit it, he'd upset me. I out of the Bazaar where me and Link had gone shopping together, ran past the house where we used to play as kids, past the Knight Academy, where the greatest events of our lives were about to take place, through the Plaza, where the two of us had sparred for our Knight Exams, past the hiding place we'd taken refuge and cried together when my mother and his entire family died, and to the wooden diving platform from which we'd taken our first flight together.

All these memories racing through my head drove me to the point of tears again. I stopped at the edge of the platform, pausing for a moment to compose myself. Now was not the time; Link needed me. I was about to jump when I heard a voice that I cherished, that I'd last heard in the middle of a dark tornado.

"Zelda..." said a voice that I cherish, that I'd thought I'd never hear again. I froze in mid-stride, not daring to believe it. Could it be? I slowly turned around, all my sorrows vanishing when I laid eyes on who had said my name.

"Link?"


	4. Chapter 3-Dropping In

**Hello, my readers. My wonderful college professors have been loading me down with homework, and finals are only a few weeks away. I've barely been able to write much at all. This is only a fourth of a chapter; I'll post the rest later. Read and enjoy! **

Chapter 3-Dropping In

"We may encounter many defeats, but we cannot be defeated."-Maya Angelou

It was as if my brain had jammed. I'd seen Link pulled down to the Surface with my own eyes. How could've he returned? Yet here he was, execpt he was wearing the green Knight uniform that we should have received this morning.

"Link, how...but...thank goodness you're safe," I said, starting to run towards him, intending to hug him. I'd never let him go, never.

"Zelda, I'm not safe," he said, sadness permeating his misty-blue eyes.

I halted about a stone's throw away from him at these words; how could he be not safe, he's standing right in front of me!

"What do you mean by 'I'm not safe', you're standing right in..."

He began flickering; parts of him disappearing then reappearing, coming in and out of focus. Sometimes, I could the Bazaar right through him. _What is going on?! _

"Zelda, you need to hurry to the Surface," he said. "I'm in danger, we all are."

"We?" I repeated, confused.

"Things aren't as they are supposed to be, or happened as they should," he said. "But..." Suddenly he vanished, replaced by the second most ugly looking being I'd ever seen, in both reality and my dreams. I recognized him; he looked like one of the demons described in Father's ancient texts. His body was black and white, and covered with diamond-shaped patterns, everywhere, all over his body. He even had diamond-shaped earrings!

He wore a belt that had a red ruby on it, holding in place a red cape embroidered with...more black diamond patterns (seriously, does he have any fashion sense?). The last of his ugly features was his white hair that covered one of his eyes. The demon produced a jagged black blade similar to the one that I'd seen in my dreams, execpt that it was smaller, but still looked as deadly. Link reappeared with a sword of his own, and they went at it, their blades clashing. I just stared at them transfixed; my feet refused to move. The demon shattered Link's blade into thousands of silver shards. He then swiped Link across the stomach...

"NOOOOOOOO!" escaped from me.

Next thing I knew I was charging at the demon, sword drawn. I plunged it into him; my eyes widened in shock as I saw it go cleanly through without causing any damage. The demon turned and fixed me with his beady black eyes; they screamed hatred, and his face had a look of hunger that unnerved me.

"Ghirahim," rolled off my tongue, my voice dripping with venom, surprising myself. _Where'd that come from? I've never known a 'Ghirahim' before. _

Ghirahim let out a laugh that sent chills down my spine, before vanishing, leaving me alone again. _What the...LINK! _

This was getting out of hand; nothing was making sense anymore. Panic shot up into my chest and before I knew it, I sprinted (is it just me, or are these sandals better than any other footwear I've ever worn?) towards the nearest platform in the Plaza and jumped off of it, putting my hands in my mouth, and whistling for my Loftwing.

With a caw that warmed my heart, Vella swooped down out of the sky caught me gently on her soft back. I locked eyes with my beloved partner. Vella, head for the green beam of light in the clouds. She cawed in response and set out at top speed for the hole, her magnificent purple wings blowing a strong breeze through my blonde hair. Vella and I have always shared some sort of connection by which she can read my thoughts. I've never been able to figure how it works, but it makes flying at breeze; I can think what I want Vella to do, instead of pulling on the string that is tied around her neck.

I tried to enjoy the ride, fighting to keep increasing my anxiety from clouding my sense of judgement or sending me into another panic.

_**..Zelda...Spirit Maiden...**_

"What?" I thought, not paying attention to what was happening. I was too busy staring at the green beam of light in the clouds.

_**..Finally, I can communicate with you... **_

"Wait, who said-um, thought that?" I said out loud, looking wildly around and questioning if that is what actually happened.

_**..I did...**_

"What, who..."

_**...Look below you... **_

All I saw was Vella and the cloud barrier.

"Who are you?"

_**"It is I, Vella...Spirit Maiden...When you were chosen for your mission by the Goddess, she allowed me to remember what my purpose is, and to communicate with you...my purpose is to assist the Spirit Maiden in her journey to rid the land of the darkness." **_

"What?"

_**"The Goddess left a message with me to share with you...Though we be parted by time, my spirit shall always be with you. A legend...that weaves destinies and spans the flow of time...shall be written on the heart of a young girl, with a heart as pure as parchment."**_

_..Tale...spirit always be with you...spans the flows of time...the heart of a girl... "_

**_"I can read your thoughts you know_."**

"Then what does it mean?"

_**"It means that we were both chosen for this long before I became your Loftwing. Our spirits have always been together since the dawn of time." **_

_Finally, at least I finally have some answers_.

_**"I heard that." **_

_Vella!_

She cawed in response, and I clearly could hear her giggling inside my head. _**"Sorry. We have arrived."**_

We had reached the hole by now and I had Vella circle it, allowing me to peer down. Beneath several layers of misty clouds, green vegetation was visible, or what looked like to be the tops of trees. Not the tiny ones that dotted the land of Skyloft, but monster-size. There appeared to be thousands of them. I just stared down at them, in awe, not believing my eyes.

_**"Impressive, isn't it?"**_

"It is," I muttered.

I'd never imagined anything like this, even in my wildest daydreams. I pulled my right leg to the side of Vella that was circling the hole, so that both of my feet were dangling off of Vella's left side. I closed my eyes and mentally prepared myself for what I was going to do next; break every rule my father has ever taught me about flying a Loftwing.

"Okay Zelda, three, two, one," I said, out loud, trying to be brave.

Nothing happened. My body refused to respond, paralyzed by a case of the nerves. _Seriously! _

_**"Remember Zelda, you must have courage." **_

"That's Link's department," I retorted. "Just give me a second."

I closed my eyes and mustered up every ounce of willpower I possessed. "Come on Zelda, you can do this...AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Vella had done something I'd never seen a Loftwing do before; she turned upside down and dumped me off. I fell, on my back, screaming at the top of my lungs, down towards the hole.

_**"Be safe Her Grace." **_

I stopped screaming; why did Vella just call me Her Grace? She'd just called me Zelda, why the sudden change? Before I could ponder this mystery further (just the latest one) my attention turned to the major problem now before me; plunging downward.

"My Mistress," said Fi's voice. "Now is the time to use your Sailcloth. By doing so in the next seven seconds, I calculate a 100% chance it'll prevent major bodily injury." Apparantly she can calculate the amount of time to impact. _What else can she do? _

_Sailcloth?_ Silently I cursed myself; I'd hadn't thought to grab one before I'd left. _Great, I'm going to die, and my quest has just barely begun. _

As I started to sink into the depths of despair, I noticed a cloth, attached to my newly-acquired dress, flapping in the breeze. I recognized it immediately; tearing it off, I held it above my head. It inflated and I went from free fall to floating lazily downward, drifting slightly in the wind. The view was amazing; I was so caught up seeing this new world, that I didn't look down to see where I was going to land until I heard the sounds of swords clashing together. Glancing down, I saw a massive white structure, which must have been glorious in it's heyday, now a run down ruin. It's magificant twin white doors, constructed of some sort of stone, were in horrible shape, no doubt worn down by the ravages of time or something else.

Chunks of the roof had fallen in, giving the edifice a sad look. Outside it's massive front doors was, what my instructors had called a crater, or a massive hole in the ground, outlined by a winding path that started near the run-down structure, and ran the entire length of the crater, ending at the bottom. Directly below me, where two figures duking it out. I instantly recognized both; there was no mistaking that sandy-blonde hair, or the smooth fighting moves that I'd envied heavily many years ago. The other being made my heart sink; it was Ghirahim.

The two of them had their blades, and were blocking and parrying each other's blows at a speed that made my head spin. _Was what I saw a vision of the future...maybe I can prevent it...zikes! _

Panic seized me again when I realized what a predicament I was in; I was drifting down right on top of them, about to drop right into the middle of their sword fight. I wanted to shout a warning or something to grab their attention, but it seemed to become lodged in my throat. There was nothing I could do, except hope for the best.

_Please Hylia, spare my life so that I can save Link... _

A massive gust of wind tore the Sailcloth from my hand. I went into free fall again, about six feet above the combatants...

**Part 2 will be up soon. In the meantime, please leave a review as you go. They are greatly appreciated. **


	5. Chapter 3-Part II

**I've edited some of the parts of this story. It has the same storyline, but I've made some improvements that I hope will help make this chapter better. I welcome any input from my readers, by via review or PM.**

Chapter 4-Dropping In Part II

"We may encounter many defeats, but we cannot be defeated."-Maya Angelou

CRASH.

I landed right on top of the two combatants, neither of whom had any warning that I was coming. My weight caused both of them to collapse to the ground, but the full brunt of the impact was taken by Ghirahim, who did a face plant. As the dust that I kicked up cleared, it revealed a pile of people; Ghirahim directly below me, Link sprawled to my right, halfway under me, with me as the icing on the cake. None of us moved for awhile afterwards, with me and Link nursing our minor injuries.

"Ow," I moaned, every now and then, nursing my lower back.

"Zelda? Is that you?" Link said, still laying on the ground.

"Yeah, it is me."

"I figured," he said. "No one else can pull off a stunt like that."

I ignored his attempt at humor, extricated myself from the pile, and went to help. I'd hoped for a more vibrant reaction, one that would showcase a portion of what I suspect he feels for me.

"Dropping in?" he said with a sheepish grin on his face, as I pulled him to his feet. I stifled back giggles as the incident he was referring to crept into my mind.

_"You sure this is a good idea?," twelve-year old me asked._

_"Of course it is," equally naive Link said._

_I looked back up at the tree he was referring to. It was about twenty feet tall and grew on the bank of the large lake that takes up about a third of Skyloft. It looked pretty intimidating to me, but in Link's eyes, it was nothing at all. That's the only thing I really envy him for; his courage and adaptability. He can do anything gracefully, without a trace of fear or folly. On the other hand is me, clumsy, cautious, klutzy Zelda, who could turn almost anything into an obstacle. Dad wouldn't even let me touch a sword without supervision until I was sixteen. _

_"Okay, I'll do it," I said, trying to be brave like he was._

_I began to climb the tree very carefully, making sure that I found reliable footholds for my feet and hands. Slowly, I made my way up the tree._

_"I'm doing it," I screamed back down to Link, elated at doing something dangerious that hadn't resulted in me sustaining a minor injury._

_"I knew you could do it," Link called back. He never tired of helping me clean up after my moments of clumsiness, a trait that I'd rarely found in many other people._

_About ten minutes later, I was nearly to the top. But unknown to us, someone was about to ruin my moment of triumph. _

_"Look, its lover boy," said a voice that made my heart sink into my chest._

_ I chanced a glance down and sure enough, it was the people who I least wanted to see in this situation; Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch, the Knight Academy bullies. He and his two cronies marched up to Link, not noticing me up in the tree. They paused briefly, below the tree looking around, making sure authority was absent (strange, they didn't look up). Once they were satisfied the coast was clear, they surrounded poor Link, who in despite of being outnumbered three to one, showed no sign of fear on his face._

_"Ready to go for a little swim?," Groose taunted, an evil grin spreading across his face._

_Cawlin and Stritch each grabbed one of Link's arms and began to frog-march him towards the lake. I began to try to get down as fast as possible, to do something, anything to help my best friend. Yelling at them was out of the question, as we were some distance away from the Academy and any houses. Link was trying the best he could, but they were too strong for him. _

_In my haste to get down, I became careless, which always results in disaster with me. Gripping a rather thin twig about halfway down, I heard an ominous cracking noise. My terrified eyes alighted to the branch to see it slowly breaking away from the tree. Before I could react, it came free. _

_My regular streak of bad luck kicked in; the other branch that I was holding with my other hand snapped as well. With no other branches within arms length, I tumbled out of the tree, backwards, screaming in panic. I slammed into someone on my way down, landing on my back on the ground near the edge of the lake. _

_"What the-" Groose said as I slammed into him. "OW!"_

_SPLASH._

_The red-head did an ungraceful swan dive face first into the lake. Link took advantage of the distraction, breaking free of Cawlin and Stritch, both of whom made the mistake of breaking their concectration to watch their leader take the plunge. Before they could grab him again, he gave both of them a good push. Arms and legs flaying, both joined their leader in the lake._

_We couldn't help it; both of us broke down into uncontrollable fits of laughter, as our enemies emerged from the depths of the lake, in various states of confusion and rage._

_"I'll...get...you...for...this..." Groose said as he ejected mouthfuls of water, his brilliant plan in shambles._

_Both me and Link ran off before he could gain the shore..._

"As always," I responded, smiling. I had to tell him now before anything else could happen. "Link I..."

He collapsed. I got to him before his body collided with the ground, lowering him down gently.

_Zelda, keep calm. You'll lose him if you panic._

I did as I had been instructed in my Knight Academy training. I began to check his vital signs and to search for what had caused his collapse.

"No," I muttered in disbelief as I checked his vital signs. I'd just gotten him back, and I was losing him again. I couldn't let that happen. "No, please, no."

When they all checked out, I recalled the scene I'd witnessed on Skyloft before I jumped. Acting on this memory, I pulled his tunic up, exposing his abodmen. I almost vomited when I saw what was there; stretched across his stomach was an jagged, ugly black scar. I traced it's outline with my fingers, seeing no blood or signs of internal injury. _Was that vision telekensis, of events that were actually happening? Heart Potion, Zelda, hurry! _I turned to grab a Heart Potion out of my pack, but what I saw made me curse. My eyes flashed to the unconscious body of the demon...formerly unconscious demon. Ghirahim was starting to stir, muttering incomprehensible words and phrases.

_No other choice._

I left my bag on the ground, and rose to my feet, drawing the Goddess Sword out of it's scarab as Ghirahim slowly rose from the ground, positioning myself in front of my helpless friend. Ghirahim's merciless beady black eyes rove over me, the fallen Link at my feet, and the point of the blade pointed at his ugly face.

"Spirit Maiden," he said, hatred replacing the hunger in his facial features.

"Ghirahim," I repeated back, giving him the same treatment.

"Her holiness is giving me orders again," he mocked, sending shivers down my spine. "She hasn't changed a bit. Oh my manners, since you have been missing in action for a few thousand years, let me indulge you with my full title; Lord Ghirahim. I'm lord over what your pitiful people call the Surface."

Confusion reigned in my brain for a quick moment.

"What are you talking about?"

"So, you don't have your memories back," he mocked. "How tragic. The conversations we could have had...It doesn't matter, though."

His eyes rove back to the body of my friend lying on the ground behind me.

"That boy...your unbreakable friend...He will be instrumental in bringing about the revival of my Master."

"No," I responded with decisive firmness. I wasn't sure who his 'master' was, but if Ghirahim was a demon lord, then surely his master was too.

Ghirahim advanced on me, but I didn't move a muscle. I kept the point of the Goddess Sword pointed at his ugly face. He returned the favor, pointing his jagged black blade at my face; I surpressed an uncontrollable shiver, already knowing what that blade was capable of. We had a staring contest, daring the other to blink first.

"Ghirahim, back down."

It caused both of us to jump and look to our right. Standing there was a woman; I swore that I'd seen her someone before, but I just couldn't quite place her. She had a slender althletic build, dark brown skin, and brown hair, part of which hung off a in braid on the left side of her head. She had a strapless blouse with the symbol of an eye emboidered on it, blue leggings, and tightly woven sandals. Around her waist was strapped a red belt in which resided many knives of various sizes; she looked more than capable of wielding them.

She was holding a blue ball of some element in her hands.

"Leave at once," she commanded.

He still didn't move; I decided to give him a little motivation. I broke the contract between our two swords and raised mine towards the heavens. It turned the color of velvet; I brought it down towards the Demon Lord. A beam of energy flew towards him; he turned on the spot and vanished into a whirl of diamonds. The beam of energy passed where the now absent Demon Lord had just stood and smashed into the stone wall behind him, blowing off quite a few chunks, showing the power of the Skyward Strike.

"Nice job Spirit Maiden," the women said. "Dropping in on him like that. Your timing was impeccable."

I ignored her; I'd already dropped to Link's side once more. I turned to my pack, and pulled out one of the corked glass bottles containing a Heart Potion.

"That won't work," the women said. "That wound is too deep and complicated. He'll need more healing power than a simple potion."

"Who are you?" I asked, still a little wary of her.

"I'm Impa, a member of the Shiekah tribe that has served the Goddess since ancient times," she said. "I'm here on orders from Hylia to help her Chosen fulfill their destinies. You're Zelda, right?"

This immediately put me at ease; in class, we had studied the Shiekah tribe, and the integral role it had played in the devestating war between Hylia and the Demon King.

"Yes...wait, how'd you know?"

"Link told me. When he was injured the first time, I came to help him heal. Ghirahim then ambushed him while he was out of my sight."

Impa raised her left hand, and a blue ball of light radiated from it and surrounded Link, lifting him into the air. He then zoomed into the large, derelict building I'd observed earlier.

"It's okay Zelda," she said, seeing my stricken face. "It's a healing spell. You used to do them all the time."

"What do you mean by 'used too'?" I inquired. "I've never done anything like that, or seen anything out of the ordinary until twelve hours ago when the black tornado tugged Link down here and created this mess."

She let out a sigh when I said these words.

"Never mind. You'll learn more about that later. All you need to know right now is that things are not happening the way they should. We need to get indoors to discuss this further."

xxxxxxx

Link was now lying on a small wooden table Impa had conjured out of nowhere, surrounded by the blue halo that cradled his battered and broken body. I stroked his head tenderly, brushing some of his blonde locks off his handesome face. _Why'd did I take so long to get here? _Tears flowed afresh from my eyes, as I bemoaned an inescapable fact; he'd been stolen from me once again. Impa just stood and watched me from the shadows of the temple, but it turned out there was another occupant; an old woman, older than any I'd seen.

She was hunched over, reliant on a cane for assistance whenever she moved. She had brown skin like Impa's, and her hair had been braided heavily, and was wrapped around her head, with a large braid (again similiar to Impa's, but larger) hanging off on her head. She wore mostly red robes, execpt for a large blue cloak that peaked a good distance above her head.

"Oh Link," I moaned, a mixed bag of emotions tearing through my heart, and tears leaking out of my eyes. "Why you?"

"It's okay Spirit Maiden," the old woman said to me, trying to comfort me. "He'll be alright. But we must turn our attention to why you are both here."

Some of the most perplexing questions that had been festering in my brain for the last few hours spilled forth before I could stop them.

"Who caused that black tornado? What does Ghirahim want?..."

She had held up a hand to silence me.

"All answers will come in due time," she said. "Some now, and many later. First I must pass some information on to you that will be the most important that you should know."

She took a deep breathe.

"First, events have transpired how they should have. Link was the one who should have drawn the sword that hangs at your waist. You should've been the first to descend from the Sky. To be blunt, your roles have been switched."

"Roles?" I said. "From what Fi told me, _our_ role is to eradicate the darkness that threatens the land."

"Yes, that is the overall goal," the old woman said. "Both of you were given indivilual roles to fulfill that would enable us to reach that goal. Yours has become Link's, now that he cannot wield the blade he was destined to hold. When he was taken, perhaps by accident, Fi bonded, in a way with you, making that blade yours. That cannot be undone; thus your roles have been switched."

"My dear Sky Child," she continued. "The architect of what is happening is the Goddess who's statue overlooks the Island in the Sky. It's Hylia, the White Goddess, who conceived of the plan that is unfolding before our very eyes. She foresaw that this might happen and took that into account. She passed two prophecies down, to be recited by those entrusted with her secrets, depending on who picked up the blade."

My mind was reeling with this new revelation and newfound doubts. Link is ten times more qualified than me to do what my role is now. _Why is Hylia convinced that I can do the task he could bear so easily? _

The old woman seemed to read my thoughts.

"Spirit Maiden, Hylia wouldn't have given you this destiny if she didn't think you could do it. Have faith, because it isn't an understatement to say that the fate of the land depends on the success of your mission."

What she said didn't help much, it did give me some hope, that what I'd been given to do, save Link was possible.

_That boy... your unbreakable friend... He will be instrumental in bringing about the revival of my Master...wait!_

"Ghirahim said something about needing Link to revive his Master," I said. "He said that he would be instrumental...what does that, and who is his master in the first place?"

"Spirit Maiden, have you ever heard of Demise?"

"Only in the ancient texts I've read."

"Demise is the Demon King with an absolute hatred of everything that is good," the old woman explained. "Thousands of years ago, he launched a war that drenched the Surface in the blood of thousands of beings and drove Hylia to send her people to the skies. He wasn't actually killed, but she did seal him away right here."

"Wait, so he's here?" I repeated, terrified.

"Not here exactly, down in the pit outside, shackled by Hylia herself. He has been deprived of most of his powers and now assumes the shape of a monster, called the Imprisoned. What has triggered these recent events is that the seal been weakening. That's why the Spirit of the Sword awoke."

I processed this new information rather indifferently; and looked at Link, still surrounded in the blue halo that Impa had conjured up.

"What about Link?" I asked."How will we heal him?"

It was Impa that spoke this time.

"Link must be purged of the dark magic that Ghirahim has forcefully imbued him with. Link still has to accomplish the part of the quest that has been given to him."

"How do we do it exactly?"

"He must healed by the power that is in each of the Sacred Springs," she said. "You will do that by praying on his behalf to the Goddess, and purifying your body in their waters. Also, in these springs, you will gain answers to all of your questions, and more information about the path destiny is leading you to. There are two of them; Skyview Spring in what is called the Faron Woods, and the Earth Spring in the Eldin Volcano region."

"I'm going to teleport Link to Skyview Spring. You must go there at top speed, with great caution. Should Ghirahim come upon you, flee if you can rather than fight."

"Okay."

She waved her hand, causing Link to vanish from the room. A pang of sadness pained my heart as he disappeared...why hadn't I told him sooner...

"Hurry Her Grace," the old woman said to me.

I had already put the blade back into it's scarab and had hoisted my rucksack over my shoulder. _I'm not sure what to believe, or what is reality anymore. I'm doing this for you Link..._

"Be that as it may-"

"What?" I said, astonished. "How, can you..."

The old woman chuckled.

"You said it aloud, without realizing it. Believe what you may, only know that Link will die if you do not succeed. Now hurry, he needs you. And take this"-she shoved a map into my hands-"and keep that Harp of yours close. You'll be needing it."

I walked towards the door, ready to finally begin the journey to rescue Link...I felt my foot catch on something and sure enough, I tripped outside into the Faron Woods, landing on my front just outside the door. My knees burned with pain, but I was used to it, being as clumsy as I was.

"Seriously!" I shouted in frustration. _Why did it have to happen now?_

I heard a chuckle of what sounded like laughter coming from the temple. I cast a look back to see Impa staring at me with what looked like to be disappointment, while the old woman seemed quite amused. I shook my head, got up to my feet and raced into the woods.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

(Out of Zelda's POV)

Impa closed the door through which Zelda had made her ungraceful exit, slamming it shut.

"Really? Hylia chose her?" Impa scoffed. "What was she thinking?"

"Only she knows that," the old woman said. "I too share your concerns, but Hylia set this thing up."

Impa looked up at the ceiling and back at her older self, pacing the floor.

"You've seen more of life that I have," she said. "What do you reccomend we do? We can't change the plan, but we can certainly help."

"I really don't think it'll be nessecary for us to do anything," the old woman said. "Zelda has a unique connection with Link, and she will do anything to save him.

"I fear that even that won't be enough," Impa said. "Many terrors await that clumsy girl, that she will have to endure to see this through, especailly now that the Hero's job has fallen to her."

"I think your fears are overblown," the old woman said. "She will prove herself in due time. Hylia didn't leave anything to chance."

The old woman limped away, leaving Impa standing alone. As she mulled over the recent events that had sent such a wrench into Hylia's plan, an idea came to Impa, one that she might pay the price later for, but would be worthwhile. All she needed to do was to figure out how to make it work.


	6. Chapter 4-First Steps

**Hello my faithful readers. I've been struggling with this chapter for some time now, and it's not one of my best. I'm happy to say that better chapters are around the corner. **

**Thanks to Decaire, Maniell, The Legend of Zelda fangirl, YueHamachi, and RUHLSAR000 for following and faving my story, and everyone who has read Hylia's Mission at one point or another.**

Edited 8/3/2015

Chapter 4-First Steps

"Things we cannot solve, we must survive."-Boyd K. Packer

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the entire staircase."-Martin Luther King. Jr.

I landed on the hard on the ground, feeling pain shoot up across my body. My assailant, a flower from the depths of darkness, snapped again at me with it's nasty green fangs. With sheer desperation, I thrust the tip of the Goddess Sword into the mouth of the Deku Baba. It was too much for the plant; it shriveled up, turned black and turned into a purple cloud of smoke. I lay sprawled out on the ground for sometime, breathing deeply, recovering from the shock of what I'd just seen. I'd never expected a plant to become a monster, much less an innocent looking flower!

After awhile, I got up from the ground, and pulled a Heart Potion out of my pack. In one gulp, I downed half of one of them, just to make sure that none of the wounds that nasty-looking flower had given me would become infected. Once the Heart Potion had completed it's effect on me, I corked it and placed it back in my bag.

"Zelda."

I looked around to see Impa, standing behind me with a scowl on her face. She did not look pleased.

"Impa, what are you doing here?"

She began to walk toward me.

"First thing," she said. "Attacking opens yourself up to a counter-stroke. That's where you made your mistake. You attacked too forcefully, allowing the Deku to get in a good strike at you."

She stopped when she was standing right over me.

"It's Hylia's wish that I travel with you for at least the first portion of your journey. However, my job is to be your teacher, nothing more. Do I make myself clear?"

I didn't say anything; she had left me quite puzzled to be honest. _What did she mean by being my teacher, and nothing more?_

"No."

"I am going to mentor you during the first portion of your journey," she explained. "But I'm not going to fight your battles for you. Am I clear now?"

"Prefectly clear." _Not even close._

"Good, let's get going."

She walked past me into the woods without giving me anymore of an introduction or instruction. I just watched her walk by me, even more conflicted than ever over this mystery Shiekah. I'd lied just to get her off my back, as she was one who clearly shouldn't be crossed. _But who was she, truly? Why is she here? What exactly is her relationship with Hylia? And most importantly, what is her role in this mess that me and Link had been thrown into?_ I could tell she was hiding a lot from me. _How much is she hiding?._

Impa hadn't gone far when the hilt of the Goddess Sword beamed blue and Fi appeared in front of us.

"My Mistress, and...Welcome Impa, it's an honor to speak with you in person after all these years."

Fi bowed to Impa, like she had done to me and my father.

"Wait? How do you know each other?" I asked, competely stunned. I'd never expected this.

"Long story," Impa said, locking eyes with Fi, and slightly shaking her head. "That will be told later, but not here."

Fi nodded in return. _What is going on here? Why are there so few answers to my questions? _

"Shiekah Impa and My Mistress," Fi said. "We have entered what is called the Faron Woods. A high amount of rainfall has allowed a wide variety of creatures to flourish here. I sense the presence of monsters in the vicinity, so I advise you to be on guard."

She turned back into a blue ball of light, and merged with the blade hanging at my waist.

"Well," I said with trepidation, drawing the Goddess Sword. "Let's go."

Her words quickly proved themselves to be true. Plants of every kind, most of which I'd seen only in miniature form on Skyloft, dotted the landscape wherever we looked. Giant mushrooms, dwarfing the ones on Skyloft by nearly a hundred times were quite common, and were colored blue, green, and red. But by far the most impressive (in my mind) were the trees, which were mind blowing in their size and scale, especailly now that I was seeing in person. Birds smaller than our Loftwings (is that even possible?) darted around us in the air, singing sweet songs. It was more than I ever imagined and dreamed the Surface would look like.

Execpt that it was marred by the fact that Link wasn't here. Every daydream involved the two of us, and now... I looked up at the sky, then back down to the ground, as we walked in silence deeper into the Faron Woods, as the map said, wishing only for more answers as to what my destiny was and why'd the two of us had been chosen in the first place. As my eyes scanned the foliage for any sign of monsters or ugly monster flowers, flames appeared right in front of me. I let out a small screech, causing Impa to jump.

"What is it Zelda?" she asked in a harsh voice, gripping my shoulder.

"N...n...nothing," I said, jittery after what had just happened. The green foliage was still in front of me, unharmed by any flames.

"I'm fine."

We resumed walking until it happened again, and again, and again, so rapidly I couldn't respond to them. Pain shot across my entire body, causing me to collapse to the ground. Impa dropped to my side.

"Zelda, what's wrong?"

"I do...don...'t...know..."

Another vision burst onto my mind. The woods were on fire; bright, blue and orange flames were rampaging, consuming the trees and the plants. They were like those that had claimed the lives of my mother and Link's parents so many years ago, a tragedy that had wielded the two of us together in a friendship that no one could break. What I saw next broke my heart; Creatures of many different descriptions fled the flames, purued by dark creatures, some of those resembling Ghirahim. I whimpered as they fled, crying out; I felt their pain, their sorrow at losing their homes. Many of them turned and started fighting with the demons; I felt their anger, I wanted to help. _I need to do something..._

"Zelda," Impa shouted, shaking me. The flames vanished just as quickly as they had appeared, leaving the foliage untouched.

"Did you see something? Tell me everything."

"Well," I said, a bit frightened, yet grateful that I could finally tell someone what was blockin me. "I saw flames, torching the woods and creatures fleeing from the onslaught. And dark creatures, that looked like Ghirahim, chasing them. It was awful. Who could do such a thing? I felt their pain; I wanted to help them, to fight for them."

"You are seeing scenes from the Great War of millennia ago," Impa informed me. "That happened often as Demise's forces ravaged the land."

"The Great War? Why do I have to see these things? Impa..."

"Enough," Impa said. "Spirit Maiden, remember Link."

All she needed to do was say his name to make me shut up. All I knew was that I wanted Link safe and sound, and this was the only way I could see would make that happen, despite these stupid visions. I took my next step forward; and watched my clumsiness kick in again. I tripped over a plant, or what I thought was a plant. As my foot made contact with it, it sprung up, and came alive, and I promptly tumbled to the ground.

"Kwee, monsters," it yelped, before running off deeper into the Faron Woods. It was the oddest looking plant I'd ever seen; it had a beak like a bird, grass growing out of it's head, and it could _run and speak!_

Impa had a disgusted look on her face as it fled (is she even capable of smiling?), while I was staring in amazement.

"Her Grace, I detected an aura on the Kiwki that closely matched one of the items in your bag," Fi said, speaking inside my head, like Vella had done earlier.

"Aura? Kiwki? Fi, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"This is Machi, a member of the herbivorous Kiwki race. He is a gentle creature, so I calculate a 0.01% chance he is a threat. On him, I detected the aura of the One called Link."

"Aura?" I repeated again.

"An Aura is like a scent, something unique each one of us has," Impa filled me in. _Is she hearing this a well? Never mind._

"Wait," I said, the full impact of what Fi was implying hitting me. "You...you detected Link? Can you track him?"

"It closely corresponds to one of your items."

Fi appeared in front of me and indicated my Sailcloth. I examined it more closely and almost fell over when I realized who's it had been; it was the one I'd made for Link._ How'd it get back to me? _

"There is a technique I must teach you," Fi said. "It's called Dowsing."

"Dowsing?"

"It's a way by which I can detect and track the aura of certain objects."

My heart leapt into my chest; I could track Link! It sounded strange to be honest, but in light of all the things that had happened lately, it didn't bother me much.

"The technique is simple; look at the Goddess Sword."

"What?" I said, my mouth dropping. It was blinking a sky blue, but not the deep bluish-purple of the Skyward Strike the night Fi awoke.

"The brighter and more rapidly the sword blinks, the closer you are to the source of the aura," Fi said, floating in the air in front of us, watching while I experimented with the sword, pointing the blade in various directions. It seemed to glow and blink the fastest when I pointed it to the northwest. "I sense Link's aura is strongest in the northwest. I calculate an 85% chance we'll find him if we set off in that direction."

She became a ball of light again and vanished back into the sword again.

Without a moment's hesitation, I headed northwest, flushed with newfound optimism, with Impa hot on my heels. We followed the blinking sword until the woods opened up to an enormous meadow, occasionally cutting down Deku Babas along the way (with Fi and Impa's help, I became quite good at it). The meadow was completely clear of all trees, with only grass and mushrooms carpeting the floor. A lone tree stood right in the middle of the meadow. It dwarfed every other tree I'd ever seen, with it's branches and roots spreading out into the surrounding meadow and woods.

"Wow."

Impa huffed a little bit; she doesn't seemed thrilled at my fascination with everything. Even while Link is gone, I'm still mesmerized by the Surface: I've been daydreaming about it my entire life. What else would you expect?

"Zelda, the sword," Impa said.

"What?" I said again, confused, soon staring at the sword in disbelief. It had stopped blinking; my newfound opitism and our greatest chance to find Link had just evaporated in front of us, exactly like how Link was snatched away from me. I fought the painful memories threatening to erupt into my mind.

"My Mistress," said Fi's voice inside my head. "I cannot identify Link's aura in the surrounding area."

"Oh no," I muttered, fighting to keep hope alive. "Fi, are you sure?"

"Yes my Mistress."

I sighed in defeat as my world came crashing down; the search for Link was certainly being a lot harder than I imagined, and take more time. Moreover, I was trying to fight down the first signs of panic; Ghirahim was after Link, there was no doubt about that. The sooner we got to that Spring the better. The only other lead to Link I had remaining was Impa.

"I guess we go to the northwest," I said to her. "Unless you know where you teleported Link?"

Impa shook her head. I groaned in frustration at the search which had begun with so much promise, only to end in such a disastrous fashion.

"I don't know the location of the Spring," Impa clarified. "Like I said, I'm only serving Her Grace in guiding her Chosen to their destinies. Link needed to visit the Spring to be healed, I knew that much and I could teleport him there. But I don't know it's exact location."

"Wait," I said. "Did you just call Hylia Her Grace?"

"Yeah," Impa said. "It's an honorable title, given only to two persons since the history of this world; Hylia herself, and now you, as your are her Chosen."

_Finally, some answers._

We heard screeching and yelping that sounded eerily like Machi, not far from us. Me and Impa traded worried looks before running off to investigate whatever was causing that racket. Sure enough, Machi was cornered against a giant light-blue mushroom, a weird red creature standing over him, and threatening the poor Kiwki with a club.

"Fi, please indentify."

"Red Bokoblin. They have plagued the land since ancient times. They prefer to attack as a group and carry a variety of weapons. They lack intelligence and seem to have a mysterious obsession with fashionable undergarments."

I snorted with suppressed laughter at 'lack intelligence' and 'fashionable undergarments'. Maybe I could use those features to my advantage.

"Hey," I shouted at it.

The Bokoblin immediately broke it's attention from the little creature writhing on the ground in front of it, and focused to me. It screeched, and then charged, wielding a club. Despite what Fi had told me, it looked a little intimidating at first. It clumsily swung it's club at me, which I easily dodged. Twirling to it's right, I thrust the blade of the Goddess Sword into it's stomach; and I was greeted by the sight of green blood flooding out of it's body before it toppled over, disappearing into a small purple cloud.

I became nauseated by the sight and turned away.

"Disgusting," I said, wiping the Goddess Sword on the grass to get rid of the blood and my churning stomach.

Machi continued to cower on the ground in front of us, even though the Bokolin was gone. Impa went over to the mysterious Kikwi, who, still cornered, didn't even try to run.

"Kikwee, please don't hurt me," he pleaded, in a voice that would melt the hardest heart.

"We mean you no harm," Impa reassured him, picking Machi up in her arms, and rocking him back and forth. Blue magic emitted from her hands, which had a soothing effect on poor Machi. The shuddering Kiwki soon stopped shivering, and began to breathe normally.

"Kwee," Machi said after a few minutes of this. "I must let Bucha, the Kiwki Elder know that I'm safe."

He jumped out of Impa's arms and ran off again.

"Wait," Impa said. "Why don't you let us escort you?"

Machi accepted Impa's suggestion immediately. But it quickly proved to be a bad idea; he talked to us for about his life in the woods, and bored us with everything you would ever need to know about his tribe. I zoned out, letting my mind drift back to Link and to the happy times we'd enjoyed together over the years.

"Kee-koo, a little while ago I ran into another funny animal like you," Machi said. I immediately snapped out of my thoughts.

"Another?" me and Impa said together.

"Kee-paleep, one was green and flew overhead, the other was black, running on the ground. Kwee, he slashed at me."

Impa and I looked at each other; we both knew who the second person was, and it wasn't good news.

"Do you know which way they went, Machi?" Impa prodded.

"Of course, kwee, this way," Machi said, running off in a northwesterly direction.

He turned out to be quite the energetic creature, sprinting along at a good pace: we had to jog to keep up with him. The little Kiwki lead us along for about five minutes until we came to a large plateau rising in the middle of the large clearing. On top of this was another Kikwi, execpt that this one was about ten times Machi's size. My heart sank again; another dead end.

"Kwee, koo, Bucha I'm safe."

"There you are Machi, kwee" said a giant Kiwki at least ten times Machi's size.

Probably due to his voice, or something else, I found myself trusting him explicitly, despite that I'd only just met him a few seconds ago.

"Kwee, I never thought I'd ever see Children of the Sky, as told in the ancient legends passed down by our elders," he said, surprising both me and Impa. "May I thank you for rescuing him with this, kwee."

He fell, face first, onto the ground, causing the ground to shake. A slingshot flew off from his tail and landed in my hands.

"Okay," I said, a little bewildered at the short conversation.

"Strange weapon," Impa commented. "I don't see what help it will be."

"Well," I said, shrugging my shoulders and bagging it. "It might help. So, now what?"

"We should continue heading to the northwest," Impa said. "That's the last direction that Link's aura was last detected."

With little else to go on, I couldn't argue with that.

We hadn't gone far when we ran into a pack of Bokoblins. Impa and I tried to sneak up on them, but one of them spotted us before we could get too close and soon a whole pack of them charged us. One by one I slashed them down, with the Bokoblins doing much of the work for me. Impa didn't lift a finger to help me, which irked me.

"Can't you give me a hand?" I prodded her.

"No," was her curt response. "My only job is to ensure that you succeed. You are doing quite well on your own."

I rolled my eyes at her; did she really have to be like this?

"So where is that spring..."

Impa grabbed the neck of my dress, stopping me.

"Impa, why'd you..."

I gasped at the sight in front of me. She had saved me; I was about to step into nothingness and plummet off a dark chasm. I backed up, shuddering what might have been. A single rope lead across the dark void, which was guarded by a Red Bokoblin on the other side.

"Always look where you are going," Impa said. "That seems to be the cause of much of your clumsiness."

"I'm clumsy even when I'm watching where I'm going," I conceded. It was true; the events of last night in the chamber illustrated that prefectly.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Well, get going," Impa said, indicating the rope.

"Are you nuts? I'm too clumsy."

"Sorry, I didn't consider that," she commented.

"What?" I said, not offended at all. "What doo you want me to do, just walk out there? Float across?"

Fi appeared out of the sword in front of us, causing both of us to jump.

"Her Grace and Shiekah Impa, we have reached an area known as the Deep Woods. Similarly to the Faron Woods, a large amount of rainfall allowing the same variety of plant and animal life to flourish here." She turned and stared at the chasm currently blocking our route. "I sense that Link's aura isn't too far away (I had to contain myself from squealing with joy!), I suggest that you walk across the chasm."

Nobody said anything in response. Did she just suggest that we plunge to our deaths?

"Fi, are you serious?" I prodded.

"Spirit Maiden, I sense that your powers have an 100% chance of preventing you from falling to your death." _ I have powers?_

With that, she turned into a small blue ball of light and vanished into the sword.

"Is she insane?" I prodded Impa. "I have powers? If so, like what, the power to trip over everything?"

"No, Fi is not insane. Althought I do think the Goddess put a little too much information into her though," she commented. "Look, you need to trust Fi implicitly on your quest. That's her mission; so give it a try."

"Okay."

I breathed in and out, in and out, combatting my nerves, which were screaming and yelling at me not do what I was about to do. I ignored them, constantly reminding myself that Link's fate depended on me. I raised one foot and stepped out into the chasm. But nothing happening, I was just floating in midair. Slowly I took another step, and another until I was halfway out. With each step, a golden hue would radiate from my foot and create a floating island or "stepping stone."

"Impa, am I really creating this?" I asked, amazed.

"Yes," she answered. "You'll find you've been gifted by the Goddess with the abilities nessecary to complete your destiny. This is one of them."

Elated, I even spun on my foot a couple of times in the middle of the chasm as I "walked" across. One good thing that this did was that the Bokoblin guard became irritated by my new mode of transport, and started screeching. It paced back and forth, clearly not believing what it was seeing. I giggled at it's display; to my astonishment, it went out on the rope over the chasm, trying to get close to me. _Are they really that dumb? _

I "walked" over to the rope and gave it a tug. The Bokoblin wobbled, threw up it's arms, dropped it's club, and plunged into the abyss.

"Good," Impa called. "Head on over to the other side."

Impa gracefully walked over the tightrope (and even did a few cartwheels) to the opposite side, while I "walked" the rest of the way. Now that we'd cleared the obstacle, we could see what had been obscured from our view. In front of us was another temple, the second one I'd seen today. We hadn't been able to see it from the other side of the chasm because it had been hidden by some steep cliffs. This was was similar to the one back in the Sealed Grounds, but it was much bigger, contructed of white marble, and overrun with vines and plants.

"Impressive," I muttered, feeling the cold, hard stone. "It must've been quite the sight to see."

"My Mistress, this is called the Skyview Temple. I sense Link's aura inside. I suggest you commence exploration at once," Fi's voice spoke inside my head.

All my anxiety and worries vanished; we had finally reached Link, and I was about to see him again. We walked up to the doors, which were encrusted with a unique symbol that looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place where I'd seen it before.

"Ready," Impa said, looking at me.

"Link here I come," I whispered.

We walked into the temple's depths.

(Out of Zelda's POV)

Impa walked behind Zelda, pondering over the events she had just witnessed. The first part of her plan had worked beyond her wildest dreams. But despite her initial success, Impa shuddered at the thought of what the White Goddess would think of what the rest of her plan would entail. She was glad that Hylia currently was slumbering inside the clumsy girl in front of her at the moment. Hylia's wrath was something to be avoided at all costs, yet she was about to do something that could provoke it. She could only hope that the Goddess would forgive her in time...


	7. Chapter 5-First Blood

**Hi. Sorry for the long delay between chapters. It's been busy with work and all, despite it being summer.**

Chapter 5-Clash

**"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."-**Sir Winston Churchill

The Skyview Temple's interior was like that of the one in which I'd met Impa; at one point, it might've grand, it's passages pristine, perhaps with priests and worshippers roaming it's once pristine halls, but it was now a shell of it's former glory. Over the eons, trees and plants from the surrounding forest had crept in, their roots and branches hugging the stone walls and floors, even splitting the walls apart in some places, letting sunlight filter into the dark, torchlit corridors.

Droplets of water leaked from the ceiling, like in the Waterfall Cave back on Skyloft, and a dank smell hung thickly in the air. It was the prefect place for monsters to roam, execpt that there didn't seem to be any. The passageway we are walking in is bereft of monsters, but not creepiness; it just twisted and turned, and seemed to be leading us in circles. There seemed to be no end in sight.

"Nothing yet," I concluded after we'd spent sometime wandering the temple's interior. "I'd thought this place would be swarming with monsters."

"Nothing is as it seems," Impa said. "Always remember that."

Scarcely had she said this when a Deku Baba shot out of the ground, sprouting from an innocent-looking stalk just a few feet in front of us. I jumped back a few steps, frightened as the green-toothed flower sought to sink it's teeth into me. Instinct took over and before I knew it, I'd slashed the flower with a horizontal motion. The Baba, now slashed cleanly, turned black, and vanished into a purple cloud of smoke. I leaned against the wall for a brief moment, as my nerves, already heavily strained from the creepiness of the temple, slowly recovered from the unwelcome surprise. This time, Impa didn't scowl at me, but waited patiently, something that was out of character for her.

"Like that," Impa said after my breathing had eased, indicating the oridnary-looking stalk that the Baba had erupted from. "Never let your guard down, no matter where you are."

Once my nerves had recovered from the unwelcome surprise, we walked over the remains of the snapping flower and into the passageway beyond. Here, it finally ended, opening up into a small, dank chamber that looked no different from the rest of the temple. A small raised dais was in the middle of the room, along with a large, circular stone door that was wedged shut. The only other identifiable feature in the chamber was something that resembled an "eye" directly above the door. With little else to entertain us, both of us walked to the door and gave it a heave. As I suspected, it refused to budge an inch.

"One more time," Impa said. "Together, one, two, three..."

We pushed on the door again, our bodies straining and groaning with the effort. But it was all in vain; the door remained as solid as it had been the first time we tried.

"Easy," Impa said, as though she sensed what might have been coming from me. "Hylia said that the journey would test her Chosen, every fiber of their being, from their intellect to their physical stamina. These are her exact words. So there's got to be a way to open that door. You just need to find it."

"How?"

"That's what you need to find out," she said, ignoring my questions. "Now, woman up, and figure it out."

To be honest, I had no other choice; I went to work. My frustration grew as I carefully studied every inch of the chamber, only to constantly come up empty. It was made worse by the fact Impa was watching me all the time with her signature dissatisfied expression.

For some reason, I kept being drawn back to the eye over the door. I couldn't shake the feeling that it had something to do with the door..._but what? _

_What could it be...Wait...the Slingshot! The eye...it all fits! _

I pulled the newly-acquired weapon out of my bag, earning one of Impa's rare smiles. She held out her hand in front of me; she had a handful of projectiles for me to use. I grabbed one of them, put it into the string, and pulled back the sling and let it fly...it missed. It took two or three tries, but I finally hit the eye, slightly off to the right side, but still close enough to the center for it to react. It radiated a brief amount of light, before it 'closed'.

Scarcely had it done this when the walls began to shake, and dust began to fall from the ceiling. I walked back slowly towards the passageway leading out of the chamber, wary of the possibility of a collapse. Even Impa shuddered a bit, and glanced occasionally at the ceiling as the in front of us door rolled away, revealing the inner part of the temple.

"Excellent job," Impa said. "Make sure you buy a seed bag when you return to Skyloft."

We walked into the main chamber, and I was quickly awed by it's appearance. Even after all the wear and tear on it, it still retained it's magificance. Erected right in the middle of the room was an enormous statue, similar to the statue back on Skyloft. It's likeness was similar to the Statue, but without the wings or holding the platform I'd stood on a little over twenty hours ago. In her left hand, which was hanging down at her side, she held a stone, into which someone had intricately carved three half circles, each one within the other. What it meant, I wasn't sure. The statue's right hand was raised to the sky, and it held a torch that still had a living green flame burning very brightly in it. Despite the fact that I'd never seen this statue, or met whom it depicts, it was familiar to me as my own room.

_I've been here before..._

"Farore," I said, absolutely sure of who this mysterious woman was.

"Correct," Impa said. "You recall well."

"Thank you...wait...What..."

"Forget it."

I let out a loud sigh, not bothering to keep it quiet. But I didn't push any further; by now, I know I wouldn't get anything out of her except evasive answers, or worse, silence. I shook my head, frustrated with it all, the lack of answers, Link's lost aura, Impa's enforced silence, her rather odd statements, and above all, the fact that Link was gravely injured, lying deep in this dank, derelict structure.

"Fi, do you have you been able to track Link's aura?" I asked, hoping for some good news in the middle of this quagmire of confusion.

A bright blue, ball of light emitted from the sword hanging at my waist and Fi made her appearance, hovering in front of the two of us.

"My Mistress, I sense Link's aura ahead, he is close," Fi said, filling my heart with unspeakable joy. "However, I cannot track him due to interference within the Skyview Temple. I also sense the presence of monsters within the area, so I suggest caution."

Hope and relief bloomed into my chest, raising my spirits; even though Link couldn't be tracked, I was close. But first we had to deal with an onslaught of pests; we found that the chamber was overflowing with Bokoblins and Deku Babas.

"Uh oh," I said, gripping the hilt of the Goddess Sword with an iron-grip as a horde of Bokoblins charged us, clearly intent on causing us bodily harm, or more likely, trying to prevent us from getting to Link.

"Stay close together," Impa said, grabbing some knives from her belt.

Wave upon wave of them came upon us. I hacked, cut, and slashed with the sword, while Impa used her knives, and occasionally some of her blue magic to blow the Bokoblins away from us. Despite the disparity in numbers, we fought our way through the room, around the statue, and to the other side, leaving a trail of purple smoke in our wake as we went.

What we hadn't expected was the ghastly sight was awaiting us on the other side. It was one that made me want to run away and never return to this wretched place again. It was a monster that had the skeleton of a man, with a metal helmet on it's head, and it held two rusted blades in it's skeletal hands that could easily slice me and Impa to ribbons. But I couldn't back out; Link needed me, and I couldn't save him by running, even from monsters like these.

"Fi, help!" I called, deseparate for anything that would help me get through this alive and in one piece.

"Staflos, a soldier of the undead. In life, it was an ordinary knight, but undead has improved its combat capablilites. I suggest you disarm it with a well timed shield bash," Fi said.

Shield Bash?" I repeated. I mentally myself for not picking one up earlier at the Bazaar.

"Zelda, get ready," Impa said, heightening my sense of anxiety.

"But Impa...How? I don't have a shield, how are we supposed to defeat that thing?" I said.

"Listen," Impa said, grabbing my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "Keep the Stalfos distracted, until I get into position to deliver a killer blow. Now is where you must prove yourself. Now get a move on, Link awaits."

She then left me, running off into the chamber. I had no other option but to muster what little courage I had and ready myself to fight the beast. I took the combat-ready stance that Link had spent hours teaching me, and waited until the Stalfos advanced towards me, and began striking with it's rusty blades. The Stalfos quickly proved to be a formidable adversary, his powerful swipes not leaving me an opening to get in one of my own. After I'd blocked a few of them with the Goddess Sword, the undead knight brought down both blades upon mine instead of just one.

With a loud 'clang', the Goddess Sword flung out of my hands and across the chamber, clattering to the ground some distance away, leaving me defenseless. Filled with pure desperation, I ran towards it, trying to regain it before the monster sliced me to ribbons.

CRASH.

I tripped, landing on my front, my knees burning with pain as I went down. I couldn't believe it; of all the times I had to trip, it had to be now.

As it turned out, I'd tripped over my own bag, which I'd must've dropped on the ground behind me as the Stalfos began to advance. My foot had lodged inside it, and had pulled it open. The Harp had latched onto that very same foot, landing beside me on the floor. _Wait..._

_"Hylia, it's lost," said a soldier in the front ranks, as the Goddess ran up to his position. _

_"No it's not," she responded forcefully, reprimanding him._

_She stepped in front of him, placing herself between her faltering soldier and the Stalfos army. The undead soldier in front of her slashed with its blades, possibly unaware that she was a Goddess, and thus impervious to anything he could throw at her. Hylia thrust her Harp at the monster in response; the golden Harp collided with cold hard, rusted steel. _

_With a musical 'clang' that defeaned many of the combatants around them, the Staflos's blades shattered into a million pieces, leaving the dumbfounded undead knight dazed, and at the mercy of Hylia. The White Goddess raised her blade to the sky, until it shined the color of sapphire; she unleashed the beam of energy at the monster. The Skyward Strike shattered it's spine, and the Stalfos crumbled... _

The Stalfos slashed at me again, intent on slicing me in half. As if I'd meant to do it all along, I grabbed up the golden instrument lying beside me, and thrust it up into the air. I lay there on the ground for a few seconds, hoping with all my might that it would work. After a few seconds, I didn't feel a blade slice into my stomach or take out my heart. Instead, a bright golden light was permeating through my eyelids; slowly they reopened to behold a magificant sight.

The Harp was radiating like the sun, it's golden light forming a barrier between me and the knight of the undead. The Stalfos was hammering away at it, trying to break it, but it held_...It's a shield...can a instrument do that? What...wait_...I had my shield, and the answer to how to beat this monster, I could finally fight back. I had a chance.

I rose to my feet, while the Stalfos continued to hammer away in vain at the barrier. I walked towards the undead soldier, backing the weird thing up one step at a time, blocking its blows with the Harp shield. I picked up my sword, and I was now ready, with the Harp in my left hand, and the sword in my right. Now the slate was even, and the true fight had began. The Stalfos swung his right blade at me; I thrust the Harp at it.

An enormous amount of light energy erupted from the Harp, slamming into my quarry. The Stalfos was thrown off balance, and stumbled backwards, crashing to the ground onto it's back, dazed. I seized my opportunity, and jumped on the downed monster, and began to stab and slash away. Bits of bone flew from the monster's body, busted free by the blade. Adrenaline coursed through me, as I increased the frequency of my thrusts, seeking to finish off the monster as soon as I could. But it was not to be, as it never is with me.

The Staflos began to rise from the ground, forcing me to abandon my attempt to finish it off It slashed at me; I didn't move fast enough, and one of it's blades slashed across my left shoulder, opening a small cut. Blood out, staining the stone floor a deep crimson.

"Good job so far," Impa said, appearing at my shoulder.

"Where were you?"

She ignored my question; bandaging up my shoulder with some bandages she had gotten from who knows where.

"Come on, change of plans. We are going to distract it. You run to it's left and I'll run to the right."

She helped me to my feet as the Stalfos marched on us, ready for another bout. It used both blades this time; we both dodged, and ran around the undead knight. I began to see signs of what I assume is panic; it now had two targets to track instead of one. We weaved around, and around it's legs until it began to stab and slash at us sporadically, turning around and around in circles, slamming it's blades into the stone floor repeatdly, leaving large impressions in the stone floor. Finally, dizziness set in, and the monster spun around once and collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud.

"NOW ZELDA!" Impa yelled.

I needed no more urging; I was on top of the monster, plunging my blade deep into it's spinal column, chipping bits of bone off of it's skeleton. Impa actually joined in, using her small knives to serrate the monster's skeleton. Both of us did this for about a minute, until Impa suddenly stopped.

"LOOK OUT!" she shouted, leaping off the Staflos.

"What?"

The Stalfos leapt to it's feet, and threw me off. I slammed into the ground on my right side, and slid to a stop on some distance away. The sword clattered again out of my grasp, but I managed to hold onto the Harp. Impa was again at my side, helping me to my feet again.

"Stick to the plan, avoid getting hurt, and let me deliver the killer blow."

With that, she was gone again, running off towards the right of the Stalfos. Our mutual enemy diverted it's attention towards her, swiping at the lithe Shiekah, who dodged them with such ease, she made it look easy. My mind was racing, trying to come up with something to finish off this knight for once and for all.

_...Sister...remember...__you can..._

It hit me; I knew what I had to do.

"Hey," I choked out.

The Staflos rounded on me again, and began barreling towards me, his twin swords ready to slice me apart. I raised the Goddess Sword to the sky, and felt energy flow into the blade, turning it the color of deepest sapphire. All of the pent-up energy was humming within the sword, aching to be released. I waited, trying to contain my nerves, until the Stalfos swung both of his blade down on top of me again.

I held the Harp up and watched as the blades smashed down on it; with an enormous 'bang', they splintered, cracked, and shattered into a million pieces. The Stalfos was so dazed, that it's arms became inoperable, leaving it wide open to a counterattack. That was when I freed the Skyward Strike. A pillar of sapphire energy bore into the Staflos; bone cracked and shattered as it penetrated to the knight's very core, radiating into every part of the creature's skeleton.

With odd popping noises, the Stalfos shattered into a million pieces, like it's rusty old blades had done just a few seconds before. The remnants rained down on the chamber, scattering all around the statue of Farore.

Silence returned to the chamber, so that all could be heard was the occasional dripping of water, seeping down from the ceiling, and my own deep breaths.

Shuddering uncontrollably, I wiped the sweat that had gathered on my forehead off, as the remnants of the Stalfos disappeared into a cloud of purple smoke, not unlike the Deku Babas and Bokoblin I'd finished off earlier. I raced to my pack and rummaged through it, finding the half-finished Heart Potion; I downed it in a single swig.

I felt the minor wounds I'd incurred heal up, leaving only small red bumps on my skin to indicate where they had been.

"Impa..." I said, expecting her to appear at my shoulder like she had been doing the last little while. "I...Impa?"

But she was nowhere to be seen. Nor did she respond too my calls.

"Impa? Impa?" I called out, but I received no response. "Impa, IMMPAAAAAA!"

_Where did that Sheikah go? Could she..._

"Impa!" I called out again, my eyes roaming every inch of the chamber and finding no trace of the lithe Shiekah.

I wasn't surprised; if the legends about them are true, which they probably are judging on what has happened within the last twenty four hours, I shouldn't expect me to. Sheiakh were notorious for being able to hide in plain sight.

"Fi, can you detect Impa's aura in the surrounding area?" I asked out loud.

Fi appeared of the sword in front of me. She looked around the temple, as if she was looking for something.

"I can find no sign of Impa's aura," she said after about a minute. "There's a 40% chance that the temple could be interfering with my senses."

She glided away from me, and started hovering over a golden object lying on the ground where the Stalfos had just collapsed.

"What is this?" I queried.

"A key," Fi anwsered. "To the Skyview Spring."

My heart leapt into my stomach; seeing that finally brought the realization I'd finally made it, and without too much trouble from my clumsiness either. The door looked more recent than the faded stone of the temple, and was forged of metal rather than stone. A large golden circle was forged directly in the middle of the door, with the keyhole shaped exactly like the key in my hands.

"I sense the presence of Link's aura, and other beings beyond that door," she said. "I calculate a 50% chance we'll find Impa if we go through that door."

Fi returned to the sword hanging at my waist, clearing the way for me to walk up the stairs to the large metal door, and insert the key into the keyhole. It fitted perfectly, sliding into place with absolute precision. The ring around it began to spin, and sounds came from within the door, indicating it was being unlocked. Once they had ceased, the door cracked open slightly, but not enough for me to see what was beyond.

_Link here I come..._

I pushed the doors open, and walked through them. I was disappointed; there was only another large room, no different than the one I'd just emerged from, execpt the absence of a large statue of a Goddess. At the end of this chamber was yet another door. But this one was shining brightly, and had the same symbol that had been on the statue of Farore in the main room of the temple. The Spring had to be behind it, it had to be. I broke into a run, excited that I was about to see Link again. I almost had reached it when my least favorite person appeared in front of me, in a flash of diamonds.

I skidded to stop just in front of the door, just before I ran headlong into him.

_Seriously! Why does he have to show up? Especailly right now! _

Ghirahim turned around and looked at me with hatred written all over his face. He let out a maniacal laugh that sent chills down my spine.

"Go drop in on someone else for a change," I snarled at him, my right hand fingering the hilt of the Goddess Sword.

"Drop in," he repeated, flipping his gray hair out of his eyes, throwing his face into greater relief in the fading sunlight.

His nose looked a little crooked and out of shape, and one of his eyes was a darker shade than the other, despite his rather dark skin. Most likely the resulting injury from the face plant I'd made him do a few hours earlier.

"If you hadn't dropped in on me, I'd have had the Hero for myself back at the Sealed Grounds." He turned away from me, and looked at the door again. "It doesn't matter, I sense the Hero's aura beyond this door. Soon, he will be mine, and my master will rule over the Surface."

My eyebrows furrowed as anger and fear boiled up from the pit of my stomach. I had to stop him at any costs, no matter how scared I am at this point. I drew the Goddess Sword from the scarab at my waist, and extracted the Harp from my bag. To be honest, I'm scared to death; I've only began sword fighting lessons a year ago, and I hadn't progressed very far.

It was only through private sparring sessions with Link that I'd managed to pass the Knight Academy course up to this point. I'd seen Ghirahim fight; I probably wouldn't stand a chance, but I had to try.

"Did you just draw your sword?" he said. "How foolish; how can a clumsy girl like you stand up to me? Oh, my manners, I was never properly introduced. I am Ghirahim, lord over what your pitiful people call the Surface...although I prefer to be indulged with my full title, Lord Ghirahim."

"Don't you dare even touch Link," I said, trying to sound intimidating.

"I don't mean to touch him," he mocked, stepping towards me. "I mean to do much more than that with him. I want what you've put inside of him."

"What..Are..You..Talking..About?"

"Oh, so you don't remember, I'd hoped you'd regain some of your memories since the Sealed Grounds, what a pity. It seems we have reached a stalemate, but Lord Ghirahim is merciful, I'll make you a deal. You step aside and let me have the one with the Hero's Spirit, and I'll let you walk away without any harm. What do you say, do we have a deal?"

_Is he insane?! _

"No."

"Fine then," he said. "I'll teach you what happens when someone crosses Lord Ghirahim."

He held out his right hand and slowly, black shards materialized out of mid-air to form the blade he'd pointed at my face earlier today.

"I will not kill you, but I'll beat you to within an inch of your life," he declared. "Then your precious Hero will be mine."

Without further ado, Ghirahim leapt at me, while swinging his black sword. I recalled to mind all the lessons I'd ever had in sword fighting back at the Academy, and raised my blade against his. The Goddess Sword and Ghirahim's blade clashed, emitting yellow sparks as the two blades grind against each other. He broke the first initial contact, sidestepped to my right, and swung at me from that angle. I turned in tandem , and raised the Harp in defense.

The Harp produced an explosion of light, throwing Ghirahim back. Always, my instructors would tell me, take advantage when your opponent is off balance. I followed it to the letter; I plunged the Goddess Sword into the Demon Lord. The blade went clean through him, with diamond shards flying off of him as it went. My eyes widened in shock; who was this guy, if he isn't human...then what is he? Ghirahim backed up, a little shocked at my triumph.

"I see I underestimated you," he said, eying my Harp. "But why don't we try this?"

He conjured some odd-looking red things, and sent them flying at me at jaw-dropping speed. Too late, I realized they were little red knives; three out of four of them missed me, but one of them cut across my recently repaired arm, slicing open the bandages. Blood once again flowed freely, execpt this time the wound looked deeper, and the arm hurt more.

"Are you finished yet?" he taunted. "Or do you want more?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?," I retorted, using one of Link's favorite insults.

His face darkened; I'd touched a nerve. He charged at me again and our blades crossed again, the silver of the Goddess Sword groaning against the darkness of Ghirahim's sword, as each blade sought to override the other. He began to hack away at me; I was barely able to block most of his thrusts with the sword and the Harp, but he still occasionally nicked me with his blade. Luckily most of them were only slight injuries, and nothing on the scale of what had felled Link. Ghirahim pulled back again after a few minutes of this.

"I see that you aren't as clumsy as you seem to be," he said. "But let's try this..."

He made his sword vanish, then came towards me, seemingally defenseless. I was confused; what was he up to? It was too easy...but...I went for it anyways. Execpt, when I sliced at him, he grabbed my sword.

"What?" I said, stunned.

I pulled on my blade; but Ghirahim held on tight. No blood, or black diamonds for that matter, came off of his hand, despite the fact that he's holding the sharp edge of the sword. We began a tug-of-war, with the blade going back and forth.

"My Mistress, you must watch for Ghirahim's ability to grasp your sword with his bare right hand," Fi's voice sounded off in my head.

Before I could retort to her too late warning, Ghirahim pulled the Goddess Sword out of my hand. I held up the Harp in front of me, now my only hope.

"Thanks," he said, twirling my sword in his hands. "Nice blade. Let's test it."

He charged at me at superhuman speed, and slashed at me with my own blade. I raised the Harp again; it repelled him, causing him to drop it my sword.

"I've waisted too much time with you," he said, after this.

He turned on the spot and vanished into a circle of diamonds, leaving me alone.

"What?" I said, looking around. This was the last thing I had expected.

"My Mistress," came Fi's panicked voice into my mind. "I sense Ghirahim's aura inside the Spring. Hurry!"

I wasted no time; I ran through the door at top speed, my sandals clopping on the hard ground as I went. I burst through the door, and beheld the most beautiful scene I'd ever seen in my life. Water poured down from small waterfalls around the spring's edge, their crystal clear waters pooling to create the spring before me, before leaving through a small outlet to my right.

A series of stepping stones lead from the door to a large platform made of rock in the middle of the spring. In front of that was a miniaturized version of the Statue of the Goddess. The only difference was that there was a bird's crest at Hylia's feet, similar to the one back in the chamber under the very same statue.

And right there, in front of the Statue of Hylia was Link. He was lying in front of the crest and the statue, on the stone dais, still surrounded by a green halo that Impa had cocooned him in. Link... I walked towards him, feeling a flood of emotions constrict my chest and pour into my heart. I'd found him...after so much...NO! A black figure appeared in front of me, with his red cape.

A burst of rage thrust up into my chest, blocking out all other emotions. Ghirahim had crossed a line, and I wasn't going to countenance that. Recklessly, I charged with the blade, swiping Ghirahim in the back. He jumped, and I used the moment of distraction to position myself between him and Link.

"Stay away from him."

"Stupid girl," he spat at me. "You still haven't learned your lesson."

He made his sword disappear and came at me again, seemingally defenseless. Before I could respond, Fi's voices sounded off in my head again.

"My Mistress," Fi said. "I detect a change in Ghirahim's plan. I can now confirm that he has the ability to teleport. I calculate an 80% chance he will be vulnerable after he teleports."

"Teleport?" I repeated. "What do you mean by teleport?"

As if in answer, Ghirahim turned on the spot, vanishing in a whirl of diamonds. I turned around rapidly, trying to see him, trying to see where he'd gone.

"Aahhhh," I cried, as a red force of something hurled me back.

I landed hard, in the waters of the spring, blood seeping out from the cut across my left arm. It stained the water crimson, and it hurt bad, and I mean bad. Ghirahim appeared above me, and pointed his blade at my throat.

"Such a pity," he said. "I'll make you watch as I take your pitiful Hero, as did my Master so many years ago."

_What is he talking about?_

Ghirahim began to walk towards Link again. I got to my feet, only to have my clumsiness kick in. I tripped over a rock, falling back into the waters of the spring. The sword and Harp, both flew out of my hands. There was little I could do...I had failed..._I'm sorry Link._ I closed my eyes in shame, in failure.

I would never forgive myself for how I'd failed..never... Light permeated my eyelids...I looked down and was shocked to see the Spring doing..something. The wounds on my left arm and shoulder were vanishing before my very eyes, and my strength was returning to me. There was only one explanation; the Spring was healing me! Ghirahim was too focused on his prize, igorant of what was happening behind him to notice what I was doing.

I picked up the sword and the Harp again. I ran towards the Demon, not bothering to keep quiet. He turned...too late. I stabbed the blade through him with all of my strength, trying to do as much damage as possible. Diamond shards burst off of him and he let loose a cry of indignation that scared me and made me trip; I slammed into him. The Goddess Sword mercifully didn't fly away from me this time, while Ghirahim slammed into the ground, away from Link's unmoving form. I prayed to the Goddesses that we were finished...my strength had diminished, despite the healing actions of the Spring and my pack was lying in the spring, where I'd dropped it, when I'd been blinded by my emotions. Slowly the Demon Lord rose from the spring.

"I should've had fooled around with you," he said. "I sense the magical barrier around your precious Hero has strengthened, I cannot seize him. You put up more of a fight than I thought possible for a clumsy girl like you. Goodbye Sky Child. Link will be mine...but, cross me again, and you're dead."

He turned on the spot and vanished in a whirl of diamonds. I let out a huge sigh of relief; I wasn't sure how much longer I couldn've lasted. I placed the Goddess Sword back in it's sheath and stored the Harp again in my bag. I drank my last Heart Potion, now that danger seemed to have passed, feeling it's effects immediately. I turned and ran to Link, who was lying at the foot of the statue, still dressed in his green tunic, surrounded by the magic halo, which had now turned a light shade of green.

I brushed his face tenderly with my hand, like how'd I'd done back at the temple. I pulled his tunic up, seeing the massive black scar extending across his belly. I couldn't believe it, he, we were safe, and now I could focus on beginning the process of healing him.

_**Author's Note**_

_**So school is starting up for me again, even with limited time on my hands, I'll still update. They might be shorter, and cover less distance in each chapter (like Dropping In Part I).**__** And please leave a review telling me how I'm doing; I'd like just one per chapter, if that's possible. Thanks for reading. : **_

_**-Frozen789**_


	8. Chapter 6-Karane

**I'm back. I know it's been awhile, but life just loves to get in the way.****I've tried to explore some of the emotions in this chapter that one would go through in a situation like this. I'm not trying to portray Zelda as weak, but human like we all are. **

Chapter 6-Karane

"Friendship makes prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it." -Cicero

I could feel the sword's power reverbating through the scarab as it came to life. Fi appeared out of the sword and floated in front of me, execpt this time she was enshrouded by a cloud, for lack of a better word. It was no ordinary cloud; this one shimmered in the colors of the rainbow, with stripes of every color imaginable. They radiated outwards from Fi, and overlapped, shimmering the sunlight. It looked as if it was being reflected from a pool of water.

"Spirit Maiden. A memory has awaken within me, one that I am supposed to give to you. It concerns the fate of the Spirit of the Hero," Fi said.

She had my full and undivided attention.

"Set the body of the Hero into the water."

I did as she commanded. I walked forward to platform that was supporting Link, put my arms under Link's limp, green-enshrouded body, and lifted with all my might, expecting him to be very heavy; but to my surprise, he was as light as a Loftwing feather. I lifted his green-halo engulfed body, and put him into the spring at the foot of the Statue of the Goddess, being careful to keep his head above water.

"Now, pray to the Goddess," Fi intructed.

This was turning out to be an unusual way to heal an injury, but I did what I was told; what other way did I have to heal my closest friend? I knelt down, and pleaded with the Goddess more than I ever had in my life for the life of my best friend.

Right in the middle of the prayer, a flood of images plowed into my brain, adding to my long-term memories. I gripped my head in pain as they enveloped me and many of them flashed before my eyes..._A battle raging between an army of Hylians and Bokoblins...Loftwings flying down from the skies...a demon with flaming red hair...A green clad man chained to a stone wall...a woman dressed very, elegantly her name Queen Saria XV..._

_ Hylia walked back into the temple fresh from a major battle. Her shoulders were hunched forward; her hair had been completely destroyed, the blonde strands going all over the place, covering her majestic head._

_ When her feet went from charred earth to velvet carpet, she let loose all the rage that had trapped within her, that had boiled up in her throughout the last couple of days. Rage directed at Demise, at the Triforce, the object of his desire, and even a little at her Sisters. White light and energy flowed outwards from her, pulsating with her rage, and filling the air with pieces of the carpet and wood, releasing a woody aroma into the room._

_ After some time she stopped, and felt all the anger slowly leak away from her, replaced with sorrow, sadness, and despair. Hylia collapsed onto the half-destroyed couch, which had somehow largely survived her outburst. All of her emotions escaped from her at once, crashing down on the White Goddess, weighing her down under their combined pressure. Tears flowed down her cheeks into her golden hair, staining her cheeks a blotchy red. _

_ She now knew, that she wasn't strong enough to kill, or even imprison Demise for more than a short period of time. Nothing short of the power of the Triforce would stop him. She wept for her people, and the Surface tribes, who would suffer and inevitably perish under the reign of a madman. Even though the humans would be in the skies, it wouldn't take long for him to reach them._

_"Hylia?" said a familiar voice._

_"Link, please leave me alone," Hylia said, still sobbing on the couch. "Leave."_

_"Hylia, please don't push me away. Let me help you."_

_"I said leave."_

_ Silence followed Hylia's command; with no other recourse, Link left the temple, and left Hylia drowning in her sorrow. She laid there on the couch for some time, a mixture of rage and sadness permeating her majestic features. She wasn't sure what to do; she couldn't use, or hide the Triforce completely, and there wasn't enough time to prepare a mortal to wield it. Even Link, bless his noble heart, was short on the traits that it required. Hylia knew he could do, with some preparation and time, but it wasn't her luxury. What could she do..._

_ She raised up her head, wiping away her tears from her blotchy face with her sleeve. Like a ray of sunlight, an idea had pushed itself into her mind. Hylia got off the couch and paced the littered floor of her temporary residence, kicking pieces of wood out of the way with little regard. She turned the idea over in her ethereal mind again and again, as slowly a plan began to form, a plan while not foolproof, would give her people a fighting chance... _

My eyes flashed open, and my knees began to burn with pain. I rubbed my eyes, which still have the memories burned within them. The sky was tinted a light pink, signaling that the day was rapidly drawing to a close. _Was I really here for this long? _My eyes opened again and alighted upon...

_Link!_

I rose upon my unsteady and complaining knees, ran up to Link's body, and pulled up his shirt, exposing his scar, praying, hoping against hope that this had worked. If it doesn't, I don't know what will. What I saw made my spirits rise to the sky; the scar had shrunk considerably, now occupying less than half his stomach area. _He's healing, so he'll be whole soon. _All I needed to do was get Link to the Earth Spring. _But how?_

"Her Grace," Fi said, floating into my field of vision."Another message from the Goddesses for you has awakened in my memory. Allow me to translate for you."

Fi began to move around and for lack of a better word, dance. She twirled high into the air, creating a multicolored cloud that followed her. Every color that could possibly be conceived weaved together behind her as she moved, creating a fluorescent cloud that flowed behind her. She began to speak as she flew high into the sky, twirling along as she went.

_"My Sister, from the edge of time I guide you, the One chosen to carry out the Goddess's Mission. The Hero who descended from the clouds must travel to two sacred places to purify his body. You stand in one of these places: Skyview Spring. The other is known as the Earth Spring. This second spring is hidden away deep within the scorched earth of Eldin."_

_"My Sister, though not destined for the burden which you carry, give heed to my words. I will guide you, as your journey continues. I will speak again at the Earth Spring." _

Fi came back down to the ground and skimmed the surface of the spring, slowly making her way back to me. She circled around Link and began to encircle him with the same fluorescent cloud that had been trailing her as she delivered her message to me. Link's body, which had been a green halo, now turned a deep blue and zoomed up into the sky. A pang of sadness burst into my chest as I watched him go, knowing it would be a time before I would see him again.

"My Mistress, I've teleported Link to the Earth Spring deep in the Eldin Region," Fi informed me, dispelling my anxieties about where he was heading.

My mind was buzzing with what I'd just heard. Who was guiding me? The Goddesse's obviously, but who was speaking?

"Fi, do you know what that message means? And who is speaking?" I asked, with no hope she would actually answer my question.

"No my Mistress," Fi said, crushing my hopes (seriously!). "I do suggest you head back to Skyloft, where the way to Eldin will be revealed to you."

"How?"

Fi turned and looked to her right, where an owl statue stood at the corner of the Spring. "Stand in front of the statue, and hold out your Sailcloth above your head."

"Okay."

Rather reluctantly I waded over to the statue and pulled out my Sailcloth. Fi's suggestions, while helpful, had recently had an aura of danger about them. Suddenly, an enormous amount of wind erupted from the ground below me. Telling me to walk into the middle of a chasm was the most recent one. I held out the Sailcloth and was whipped up, screaming all the way.

It whipped me up at furious pace, and the Surface rapidly shrank, and then disappeared as I began to rush through the cloud barrier. I was thrust above the cloud barrier, higher than Skyloft. I floated for a split second, before I began to freefall. I whistled and Vella came swooping down out of the sky and caught me on her back. She cawed an affectionate greeting before doing her thing again.

_**Welcome back Her Grace.**_

"Thanks Vella," I said.

_**Did you have success in your quest?**_

"Well, some..."

And before I knew it, I'd told Vella everything, from when I first dropped into the fight to when the flood of memories raced into my brain.

_**Well, I've been seeing some recently as well.**_

_**"**_What?"

_**Only a few, of my past life with the Goddess Hylia.**_

"Wait, you were with Hylia?"

_**Yes Her Grace. I'll share some of them with you later. We have arrived.**_

"Vella, please tell me more."

Vella skidded as she landed, her legs digging into the ground. Only by extending her wings was she able to prevent herself from nosediving into the ground, and sending me flying off headfirst.

"Vella, what happened?"

_**Sorry Zelda. I was too engrossed in our dialogue.**_

"Well, please be more careful next time."

"_**I will Her Grace**_."

"And why do you call me Her Grace?"

_**Because of your mission. I assure you, the Goddess wants you to have that title which belonged to her. Good day**_.

With that Vella, turned around and took off, leaving me alone outside the Knight Academy to ponder what she had told me. I crept into the Knight Academy, not wanting to meet anyone but my father first. Luckily for me, Academy classes had concluded, and most of the students were out on the island, celeberating in the Wing Ceremony's festivities. I ran towards my father's office, and threw open the doors.

I saw my father, and it's difficult to describe the emotions that welled up in my chest. I was home again, and in one piece despite all I've been through, and what I saw. My father turned and saw me, and joy plastered his face as he took me into a big bear hug. It had seemed like forever, although it had only been most of one day that I'd been gone.

"Zelda, my Zelda," he said, crying.

I was crying too as well. We embraced for sometime until we broke apart.

"It's okay, I'm here Father," I cried back.

"Zelda, tell me what happened," he said.

I began to tell him what had happened down there, but I found it increasingally difficult to keep going. My emotions were piling up, threatening to explode out of me again. Luckily Fi decided to bail me out. She appeared out of the sword, now lying against my Father's desk.

"Headmaster Gaepora," she said. "Let me tell you what happened. My scans indicate that the Spirit Maiden is in need of some rest."

"Thanks Fi," I said, grateful for her.

"Well Zelda, then off to bed for you."

"Thanks Father," I said, giving him a final hug.

"Zelda, one more thing, there is the Wing Ceremony Festival tonight?"

"What?" I repeated, stunned. I'd forgotten entirely about it.

"Yes, and you are supposed to..."

"How? Link is gone, our duties will have to be canceled. Tell them that Link is deathly ill and that he can't make it."

"Okay," Gaepora said. "I'll tell the organizers that. They shouldn't ask any questions. Although I can't say that about Karane."

"What?"

"She's been a wreck since you rejected her this morning. Karane has visited my office six times and has wearied me for explanations about Link. She won't give up easily, so be on your guard."

"I will."

"Thank you," I said, giving him a final hug.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The first place I made for was my bed, I collapsed onto it and sank into a deep sleep. I slept until I was awoken by the sounds of the celebration coming from the courtyard below. I stayed in my room, not willing to face the questions sure to come from the rest of the student body, as well as the villagers. I also had to deal with a deluge of emotions that I'd bottled up in my chest.

They were a mixture of sadness and frustration at all that is happening, melded into a lake of immense emotions that, when combined with my longing for Link, had become nearly intolerable at some points. The entire journey had been an emotional Loftwing ride from the get-go, with what seemed like to be an lifetime's worth of emotions crammed into a eight-hour period.

I flopped down on my bed again and just stared up at the ceiling, ignroing the festivities going on outside. My mind flashed through the visions that had been granted to me, replaying them in my mind, trying to figure out why they had been given to me. Most of them seemed to deal with Hylia, Link, the Hero of Old, and the Triforce. _Why, why am did I receive these visions? What purpose do they..._ Someone's face appeared over my head, into my line of vision. Thoughts of Bokoblins and Stalfo's flashed through my brain.

"Aaaaahhhhh," I screamed, jerking up, nearly colliding with whoever it was.

"Zelda, it's me Karane," Karane said, taking a seat on my bed next to my feet. "Settle down, okay."

"Oh, sorry," said, feeling dread bumbling up into my stomach. "Please don't do that again."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Karane has been gifted with something I have a love-hate relationship with; she can get anything out of people. With me she's turned it into an form of art; she can get anything of me, if she tries hard enough. And the look on her face tells me that's exactly what's she planning to do. I resolved not to cave in this time.

"How're you doing?" she prompted, treading carefully.

"I'm fine," I responded, hoping she would take this as my an answer.

"No, you're not fine," Karane said, sinking my hopes. "To the contrary, I'm fine means that you _aren't_ fine. You haven't been yourself lately. First Link disappears, then you shut me out when I asked you about the picnic, and then you disappeared all day. What's going on?"

"Karane, I already told you. I can't tell you."

"Zelda, you need someone to talk to about this. If you don't, you'll suffer."

"Karane, I already told you, I cannot tell you where he went. Please leave me alone."

A brief amount of frustration flashed across her face briefly, before she put on the face that I least wanted to see; the one that showed tenderness and understanding. The dam in my chest began to weaken. I tried to put a lid on it, but the flood kept slamming against my defences, and Karane wasn't making it any easier.

"Did you find Link?"

The topic that I didn't want her asking me about.

"Yes...and...no, not now."

A tear had escaped my eye, as the image of him flying back into the sky resurfaced in my brain. A feeling came over me, the one you get when you are overwhelmed and you just need someone to talk to. Karane moved closer on the bed to me and wrapped her arms on me. Her magic was working, despite my best efforts.

"Come on, let it all out," she cooed in her tender voice.

The dam burst and all my emotions came tumbling out.

"Tell me what happened."

Before I knew it, I was doing what I had resolved not to do as the emotions finally boiled their way to the surface. Everything just came spilling out in a way that I had resolved would never happen. Mostly what I told her was limited to the journey, about Impa, and all the questions that still begged to be answered.

"I don't know what's going on, and why Link had to be taken," I finally said, as the tears started to dry out.

Karane didn't say anything, perhaps too amazed at what has happened.

"You can't tell anyone, I mean it, imagine the chaos that would result," I pleaded with her, too late to keep what had happened a secret. "Please, promise me, right now, you won't tell anyone else."

Karane's eyes darkened, as if she was considering how she would be able to keep it. Finally, she smiled, and hugged me again.

"I will," she finally said. "I will. On one condition."

"What?"

"I come with you."


	9. Chapter 7-Scorched Earth of Eldin

**Sorry my readers that this chapter your month-long wait. I had so many new ideas for this portion of the story I had to split it into two different chapters to accommodate all of them. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year! The next chapter will be coming shortly.**

Chapter 7-Scorched Earth of Eldin

**"Everything hangs on my next step. Finding my nerve, playing my part." -"**Born for This", Mandisa.

"No," was the first word to escape my lips. "I cannot allow it."

"Why?" Karane demanded.

I tried to anwser, but the words died in my throat. There were a thousands reasons for me to say no, but to articulate just one for her proved to be difficult. They were so extraordinary, but one rang through loud and clear.

"Why?" she demanded again. "Why can't you accept my help?"

"I can't risk anyone else getting hurt."

"Everything carries that risk, in a way. Everything we do carries a risk, in some way," Karane said, repeating her philosophy to me.

"You have no idea," I retorted. "I have enough help."

The Old Woman in the temple and Impa had given me enough help.

"And what form does this help take?"

"Would you even believe me if I told you?"

I wanted to tell her; tell her everything that I had heard in the Chamber, what Impa and the Old Woman had told me, but I couldn't force the words out. The full tale that had unfolded would sound so like a fairytale to anyone that had lived it that she wouldn't believe me. I'd only told Karane last night about Link's injury and my journeys on the Surface. I'd left out details like the Old Woman, Impa, but not Ghirahim. If I filled her in on the rest of what was happening, she might not be able to believe it. She would have to see for herself.

I also knew that Karane always stuck to her words and she never backed down. She was coming, and I couldn't stop her by pursausion; but I would find a way. I couldn't risk anymore lives down there.

"Fine," I lied. "You can come."

She let out a sqeaul of excitement.

"Finally, I get to put my training to use. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," I said. "After breakfast."

I didn't mention that I was planning to leave long _before _breakfast. Karane gave me a final hug and bolted from the room. Exhausted both emotionally and physically, I took a long hot bath, changed, and landed on my bed, taking care to lock my door. I didn't want to have a surprise visit from Karane in the morning. As soon as I said my prayers for Link's safety, I was out as soon as I hit the pillow.

xxxxxxx

Next morning broke clear and bright, prefect flying weather. I was up at the crack of dawn, quickly packed my things, dressed in the white dress Fi had provided me last night, did my hair, and left my room, silently closing the door behind me. I crept down to the cafeteria and to my surprise, found a steaming hot bowl of porridge waiting for me, lying on a tray on one of the tables. Henya had probably gotten up early and made it, just in case I had to make an early exit.

She had also left a flask of pumpkin juice for me. I sat down, began to eat the porridge, and rested my left hand on the trey. It began to shake uncontrollably. I bit my tongue to prevent me from yelling out, yet I jumped back and retracted my hand as if it had burned. The tray stopped moving as soon as I stopped touching it. I was puzzled; what had just happened?

More cautiously now, I touched it again. Again it began to shake, execpt this time it also heated up the pumpkin juice and already hot porridge. Curiosity overtook my fear, and I touched it with my other hand. It began to shake twice as hard and my hands lit up, literally. I lifted them in front of my face and stared at them wide-eyed, as they shone brightly in the early monring light. This wasn't supposed to be happening! Had some of the sword's magic transferred to me, or was I hallucinating? I pinched myself just to make sure; it hurt a lot, which which seemed to rule out that possibility.

I touched the fold of my dress; nothing happened. My dress seemed immune to whatever magic was causing the tray to shake. I shook my head; I couldn't be shaken by such events. I had to be strong, like Link was. If I wasn't, he wouldn't survive. This was question that would have to be anwsered by the Old Woman or Impa. But they weren't here, and I wasn't sure if I'd run into one of them on the Surface today.

The glow on my hands faded. I touched the tray again, but it remained motionless. I ate my porridge at top speed and downed the pumpkin juice before grabbing my pack and heading up the stairs to my Father's office to retrieve my sword...

"Zelda!"

I let out a small squeak of surprise, promptly tripped over the hem of my dress, and crashed to the earth. I looked up to see Karane standing next to the door. She had a pack on, with a Wooden Shield, and a practice sword strapped to her belt.

"Nice try," she said, smirking in the early morning light. "I knew you were going to try and pull something like that."

"You know me too well," I muttered mutinously as she helped me to my feet.

"Yeah, it comes with being your second best friend. Where were you going exactly?"

"To my father's office to retrieve my sword."

"Your what?"

I hadn't told her that detail last night.

"My sword, come and see."

Karane followed me intriqued. I threw open the doors to reveal my father's now deserted quarters. He'd left the sword leaning against the wall, where I'd left it last night for Fi to tell my father the rest of what had happened. Fi appeared out of the sword, floating in front of me in the air.

"My Mistress..." Fi began.

She shifted her gaze to Karane, who has her jaw wide open and resting on the floor.

"...and her friend, who my scans indicate is Karane. As is your custom, I will provide my first name. My name is Fi."

Karane just continued to stared at Fi. Fi turned her attention back to me.

"My Mistress-"

"What?" Karane said again. "She's your servant?"

"No. I prefer the term guide," I responded. "Fi continue."

"..My scans also indicate that Eldin is a hot enviroment, so I reccommend bringing along a lot of water. I calculate a 99% chance it'll extend your hours of endurance on the Surface," Fi carried on, as if Karane wasn't even present. "I also recomend refilling your Heart and Stamina Potions."

Fi turned back into a small blue ball of light and merged with the sword. I picked it up and strapped it back onto my waist.

"We'll have to stop by the Bazaar then," Karane said, following me, aborbing the shock well. That was one of her strongest attributes; she could handle shock and surprise quite easily. But it was about to be severly tested once we reached the Surface.

"Well, Karane, I'm going to warn you right now before we go."

Karane stopped walking towards the stairs and turned and looked me in the eyes.

"I can't prepare for what you are about to see and witness. Nothing is as it seems. All the legends that we were told as kids, as merely bedtime stories are true.

Karane didn't respond, but continued on down the stairs.

"Let's get going," she said.

We both went down the stairs and met my father waiting for us at the bottom.

"Good morning Zelda," he said.

Karane came down the stairs behind me.

"So she got through to you," he observed, without me having to tell him a single detail. "Karane I'm going to place you under the same obligation I've placed Zelda. No telling anyone what is going on, yet. I have a feeling that it will get out eventually. The people aren't ready yet for what you are about to witness. They might revolt."

"It's okay, Zelda explained it to me yesterday," Karane said. '

"Let me deal with the people, finding Link is your mission and first prority," my father said.

He gave me and Karane hugs.

"Be careful out there."

"I will."

He let go of me and the two of us left for the Bazaar. We exited the Knight Academy and descended the bridge connecting the Knight Academy to the majority of Skyloft. We were almost there when I saw my worst nightmare approaching. I grabbed Karane and pulled her behind one of the houses.

"Zelda. what are you doing..."

"Shh," I said, slapping my hand across her mouth.

Red-haired Groose marched past us, muttering under his breath. He came close enough that we could hear a little of what he was saying. He seemed in a state of shock that seemed similar to that of yesterday, after I'd slapped him across his ugly face.

"Zelda...Link...Why is...mad? What happened?..."

We both watched him walk away, towards the Knight Academy.

"What's wrong with him?"

My mind flashed back to the previous evening

"I guess he's still smarting over the slap I gave him last night," I commented.

"You did what?!"

"Oh, I kinda slapped him across the face," I said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

Karane had a shocked look on her face.

"Look," I said, trying to hide the fact that the incident still bothered me. "I don't know what I was doing. He insulted Link, and I kinda lost it."

Karane shook her head.

"I'm not surprised," she said. "Groose has had it coming for years, but I never imagined it would be you that would bring the hammer down."

Once Groose had gone, I left the safety of our hiding spot, trailed by Karane. We entered the Bazaar to find it nearly deserted. I shoved two nearly-empty glass bottles into Karane's hands.

"Go visit Luv and get these refilled with a Heart and Stamina Potion," I said to her. "Meet me back at the door when we you have finished. Having me visit her two times in two days will raise suspicions that we can't afford right now."

Karane left without a word of protest. I filled up my pack with more food from the various stands, all while keeping an eye out for Groose. I didn't want a repeat of yesterday's incident. Luckily the Bazaar remained Groose-less long enough for me and Karane to get out unhindered. I also bought an extra Sailcloth for Karane.

I then headed for the Statue of the Goddess. As we approached it, the hole that had been there before became visible only when we came close to it. I went inside, but Karane remained outside.

"Aren't you coming?" I called back.

"Where...where did this thing come from?"

"Long story," I said, not in the mood to fill her in on it.

Fi made her reappearance out of the sword.

"My Mistress, I received this for you in the Skyview Spring."

She opened her 'arms' and gave me another tablet. This was red instead of green, and just as old looking as the first one. I walked through the passageway down in the chamber, up the stairs, and placed it into the altar. I braced myself as a red burst of light emanated from the tablet and out of the room. Karane, who had crept in behind me, jumped surprised as the light faded and zoomed out through the wall.

"What was that?" Karane asked.

"I'm not sure myself. All I know is that these tablets open holes in the cloud barrier," I said, walking towards out of the Statue of the Goddess.

As I came out of the Statue I whistled and Vella came down from out of the sky. She landed in front of the Statue.

_**Ready to go Her Grace?**_

"As ready as I'll ever be," I commented, forgetting all about Karane.

"Zelda, who are you talking to?" she asked.

_**Just reply to me in your mind.**_

_Okay Vella. Yes I'm ready to go._

_**This girl is coming?**_

_Yes. And nothing will deter her._

_**Keep our communication secret for now. Don't tell her yet.**_

_I will._

She bent down low enough for me to mount her and then stretched her mighty wings.

"Oh yeah Karane, you'll need this," I said, holding out the Sailcloth and throwing it to her.

"Okay."

"We are going to be skydiving."

"Has Vella always done that?" Karane asked. "Landing on the ground and taking off like this?"

"No, it's just a recent development."

_Vella, fly._

Vella took off as Karane dived off the platform and whistled to her green Loftwing, Needa. Karane's Loftwing caught her rider and pulled up next to Vella.

_**The red beam of light, right?**_

_Yes. The red beam of light._

Vella let out a caw and headed straight for the red beam of light without me having to give her a command or pull on the rope around her neck.

"What?" Karane said, shocked as she told her Loftwing to bank by pulling on the rope around Needa's neck. "How'd you do that?"

_**You are going to have to tell her something.**_

"Karane, I've learned many things since Link has vanished, one of them is how to communicate more effectively with Vella," I said, deciding to spare her the details, which might make her question my sanity.

"Like what?"

"You'll find out eventually."

_**We have arrived.**_

I looked down and instead of seeing thousands of trees and greenery, I see what I identify my instructors had called an volcano; a large mountain with a opening in the top that spews forth molten lava created by the fires of Din.

"So, how do we get down? Do our Loftwings fly to the Surface?"

"No, we jump," I said.

_**Good luck, Her Grace.**_

_See you shortly Vella._

"Jump?"

I jumped and started falling towards the Surface, spread-eagled to slow my descent. I'd only been falling for a few seconds before Karane zoomed by me, feet first and screaming. I groaned; I'd forgotten to instruct her on how to do this.

"Karane, open your Sailcloth," I yelled.

Karane fumbled with her Sailcloth and opened it, instantly break her fall. Soon she was floating lazily on the winds. I pulled out mine, several seconds earlier than I would've normally, and I opened it up as well. We floated lazily down, over lava streams and steaming earth, until we landed in a solid location near the summit. I was grateful that we hadn't landed near the base.

Karane was amazed. She examined the ground, the rocks, and even picked up some of the soil, shifting it through her fingers. Karane reached down and picked up some of the soil, shifting it through her fingers.

"So, this is ash."

"What?"

"Ash, the stuff Professor Owlan said volcanoes erupt and spew all over the place. You were in Geology class, surely you should remember."

"I'm sorry," I said, stifling some giggles and turning a shade of scarlet. "But me and Link were busy passing notes during those lectures. We considered it non-essential knowledge."

"How sweet."

"Shut up."

Karane giggled.

"What about you and Pippit?" I retorted.

"What?"

Now it was Karane's turn to blush.

"We're just friends," she said in an unconvincing tone.

"I've seen the way you look at him. And Link has noticed as well."

"That still doesn't change anything."

"That doesn't stop you from wishing. Anyways, Fi, can you resume tracking Link?"

"Yes My Mistress," Fi said in my head.

"Zelda, who are you talking too?" Karnae asked, looking at me with a worried look that clearly showed she was worried about my sanity.

I ignored Karane, and drew the sword from the scarab. I pointed it all around us, until the blade was positioned near the summit. It began to blink quite rapidly, indicating that Link was in that direction.

"Karane, I know you are having a hard time stomaching this new experience, but please swallow your questions, we've got Link to save."

So I went off, with Karane trailing behind me, her eyes big as dinner plates, taking in all the new sights. The path continued to slope upwards, with both of us having to be very careful as there were rivers of lava crisscrossing the place. We crossed one of them on stepping stones and another on a bridge made of black, volcanic rock.

"Oww!," said something, as I tripped over something.

I landed on my front and quickly got up, pointing the Goddess Sword at whatever it was that had spoken.

"No, please don't hurt me," it pleaded.

I stopped; it looked like a..I wasn't sure what to call it. It had a face with a snout for a nose, and it was buried up it's arms, with a small tuft of red hair. It was colored a light shade of reddish brown, prefectly blending in with the evironment. It looked like a Mogma, a race of below-surface dwellers thought to be extinct, as Professor Owlan had told us just last week.

"Sorry about that," I said, withdrawing the blade. "I thought you were one of the Bokoblins."

"Those fiends," he said. "They drove us from our home."

"Your home?"

"The place where those things set up their camp."

"Did you see something fly over here a while ago?" I asked, holding my breath. Perhaps he'd seen Link.

"Yes, it went by extremely fast, surrounded by a green halo. I wish I could fly like that. But we Mogma must live here underground."

"Do you know which way it went?"

"Towards the summit.

"Thank you very much. Well, it was nice meeting you er-,"

"Ledd, the name's Ledd."

"Oh, Thanks Ledd."

I leapt over him and ran off towards the north, and upwards with Karane hard on my heels. The sword kept blinking more furiously the closer we got to the summit.

"Uh, Zelda," Karane said after we'd been going for sometime. "Are you sure that sword is leading you to the correct destination? And how it it leading you?"

Her tone of voice indicated she had the general idea, but she wanted some confirmation from me.

"The more it blinks, the closer we are," I explained.

I left out the part where it had gone silent in the Faron Woods.

"Okay Zelda, whatever you say," she said, not quite placing all of her faith in me.

Eventually we reached the summit. I rounded a corner, saw what was behind it, and promptly retreated, pulling Karane with me.

"What? Zelda..what is it?"

"Bokoblins."

"What?"

"Bokoblins, they are enemies. They are trying to get Link, and they...it's a long story."

I peeked around the rock pillar and peered again at the Bokoblin camp. It wasn't much to be honest, a bunch of shanty and crudely constructed dome wooden buildings. But for creatures that have an obsession with undergarments, it was enough for them, I guess.

The only problem was, now that I got a better look, there were few Bokoblins. The camp was entirely deserted, execpt for a few discarded clubs that I reconized as similar to those from some that Impa and I had defeated in the Faron Woods. Someone had already come this way, but it couldn't be Ghirahim. They'd also cleaned out most of the camp for us. Only two or three of them were left. I left our hiding place and strolled casually into the center of the camp. They charged at me, screeching all the way.

"Karane, get ready to fight," I said, raising my sword.

They were stupid as usual. They charged in swinging their clubs. I ducked the first blow, which was aimed at my head, and stabbed the Bokoblin in the stomach. Meanwhile, Karane gracefully cartwheeled out of the way of her Bokoblin's first swing, and slashed the Bokoblin across the chest. Both keeled over, but we leapt over their fallen bodies and attacked the last one together. I slashed first, then pulled back, allowing Karane to get in. Link had just taught me and Karane this technique last week, and we'd prefected it. All three Bokoblins disappeared into clouds of purple smoke.

With the village now completely empty of it's occupants, we walked along the main pathway, following the blinking Goddess Sword. The village had enough shanties for perhaps over fifty Bokoblins, which was weird considering we'd only run into three.

"Who did this?" I asked no one in particular, puzzled.

"What? Did what?" Karane asked, confused.

"This place should be crawling with them," I said. "But we ran into only three."

As we walked through the village I noticed a knife, lodged in one of the buildings wooden support poles. I tried to pull it out from the pole, but it threatened to topple if I budged it any furthur. I wasn't willing to bend over right now, so I grabbed it with one hand. It began to glow and steam. I jumped back again, stunned that something similar to what had happened earlier this morning had occurred twice within less than three hours. My hands were glowing again, faintly in the morning light. Panic was now threatening to seize me; I needed to talk to the Old Woman in the Sealed Grounds, as Fi had called them, immediately.

Even though she hadn't been very forthcoming, I had a feeling that she knew more than she had let on. I hid my hands in the folds of my white dress, afraid of what Karane might say if she saw them. I was shaking, not because I was cold, but I was frightened. A magical sword Stalfos, or Bokoblin was one thing, but me randomly generating magic was another. It took a lot of effort to bottle those feelings up. There was little more I could do but hope it wouldn't happen again until I could visit the Sealed Grounds again.

I extracted my hands and examined them. The light had faded so I cautiously gripped the pole again. It didn't do anything out of the ordinary, so I pulled the knife out from the pole and examined it more closely. I'd seen these knives before, on the belt of a woman who could wield them with ease.

"Impa."

**So, next chapter I'm really excited for. Part 2 of Impa's plan will role forth and we'll see the inside of Eldin Volcano. Stay tuned.**


	10. Chapter 8-A Spirit's Slumber

**Hello again my readers! I'm glad I could finally get this chapter out. I've had a lot of fun writing it, especially when it comes to Impa. We get so little of her in the cut scenes, but you get a good sense of her personality and conviction. I have tried to explore a little of that here. I hope this is up to your expectations. Enjoy! If you feel inclined, let me know how I did in the reviews. **

Chapter 8-A Spirit's Slumber

"Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time."-Arnold H. Glasow

"You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best you have to give." -Eleanor Roosevelt

(Out of Zelda's POV)

Impa leaned back against a rock in the Earth Spring, letting the pure water replenish her magic stores. For the first time in quite awhile, she felt nervous. She was worried; the seal she'd placed around the spring to hide Link's aura wouldn't hold much longer. She waited impatiently for the Spirit Maiden to make her appearance, as it absolutely essential that Zelda show up. She also mentally steeled herself; if all went according to plan, she would expect a tongue lashing from a Goddess, the one she had sworn to serve. It wouldn't be pleasant, if Hylia's past outbursts of anger and sorrow were any indicator.

(Back in Zelda's POV)

"Wow, Impa's quite the fighter," Karane said, after I'd explained to her my theory about why our trip had been so easy. "If she has cleaned out the village by herself, she's a force to be reckoned with."

"Luckily she's on our side," I said, recalling yesterday's expedition with her. "I'd hate to think what she would be capable of if she was working with Ghirahim."

"Oh, is that the bozo you mentioned earlier?" Karane asked.

"The very one."

I pulled out the Goddess Sword and pointed it at the doors in front of us. It began to blink quite rapidly, so fast, that it looked like the sword was merely varying in intensity as to its shade of blue.

"Link must be in there."

I approached the big stone doors that were locked shut by some kind of lock. But when I examined them a little closer, the lock had been destroyed, cut cleanly open. Someone, most likely Impa, had already entered the temple. It was confusing for me; why didn't Impa stop to help us, or at least let me know she was here? Or was it Ghirahim? The mere possibility that it could be him unnerved me.

"If it isn't Impa, then it's Ghirahim" I said. "Ghirahim no doubt is probably on his tail. I arrived just in time to stop him last time, and it wasn't easy. Let's hope we can do it again."

"Right Zelda," Karane agreed.

Taking a collective breath and gathering our courage, Karane and I looked at each other than descended into the temple together. Karane's eyes bulged in surprise and awe as we entered the impressive edifice. Rivers of lava traversed the temple, flowing through some kind of a plumbing system, carving the floor into a series of stepping stone and narrow stone passageways.

The walls had carved into them magnificent carvings depicting battles, Goddesses, and other scenes that we didn't reconize. There were no monsters in sight, so we sheathed our weapons for the time being. Right in the middle of the opening corridor was another large statue of a woman. The remnants of red paint was evident on her dress, which was similar to mine. Her hands were extended in front of her, holding a bowl of fire.

"Din," I said, surprising Karane.

"Who?" Karane said, confused.

"Din, the statue is Din," I repeated.

"How'd you know that?"

"Not sure," was my honest response.

The sword hummed at my waist, glowing a light blue and Fi made her appearance out of the sword.

"My Mistress, this is the Fire Sanctuary. My memory banks indicate this temple was built to honor the Goddess Din. Approximately 60% of the sanctuary is covered by lava. I am experiencing a lot of interference with my dowsing abilities (Karane, "Fi has what?") so I recommend you explore the local area. I have detected few monsters within the temple itself. With your supplies, I calculate you have about two hours before you run out of water."

She turned back into a ball of light and vanished back into the sword. A sudden idea struck me, one that could help us immensely.

"Fi can track objects somehow, I can't explain it," I said. "Hey, "Fi, can you keep track out our time?"

"Yes My Mistress, I can start now if you wish," was her reply inside my head.

"Please start," I said, pleased and amazed at what Fi could do.

"Yes my Mistress."  
"Did you just ask Fi to keep track of time?" Karane asked, also amazed.

"Yes I just did. And she is going to."

"Fi is amazing."

"I know, I do wonder what else she can do."

"I'm sure you'll find out soon."

"We sure will."

I sheathed the sword as we wandered into the temple, trying to keep a good pace, but not too reckless that could lead one of us to sustain a major lava injury. We skipped to a hexagonal shaped platform in the middle of the first room. As we vaulted the lava flow, a flood of six green Bokoblins descended on us.

"Fi help, please identify," I called out.

"Green Bokoblin. A variety that enjoys caves; the lack of sunlight has turned its skin a stomach-turning shade of green. And like its red brethren, it displays a fascination with festive undergarments."

Stomach turning was a good word for it. I was trying to keep my breakfast down as they swarmed in.

"Green, isn't red enough," I commented as I draw the sword from its scarab.

"Zelda, are you alright?" Karane noticed.

She must've seen the sick look on my fac.

"I'm fine," I said. "It's just these things are disgusting."

Karane drew her shield and sword as they closed in.

"Zelda, don't you need a shield?"

"I've already got one."

I raised the blade to the sky, feeling power flow from the heavens into the blade. I swung the sword at the approaching horde. The Skyward Strike laid the Bokoblins out on their backs.

"What? That's amazing," Karane commented.

"Don't just stand there," I shouted at her as I sprinted by. "Take these things down."

"Oh, sorry," she apologized.

Both of us slammed into the horde. They managed to recover, but not before we got the better of them. In less than five seconds, we had cut them all down. They all vanished into small puffs of purple smoke. Along with them went my queasiness.

"That was easy," Karane said, sheathing her weapons.

"You are right," I said. "That is nothing compared to what I've seen."

We came to a chasm separating us from the rest of the temple. Lava poured from the surrounding temple into the depths of the chasm, creating a river of lava at the bottom of it. I moved to walk out when Karane grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Zelda, what are you doing?"

"Crossing the gap."

"You mean plunge to your death."

"No, just trust me. Watch."

I extended one foot out onto the gap and a golden beam of light emanated from my feet, preventing me from falling.

"How'd you do that?" Karane asked, amazed.

"No idea," I said. "Impa and Fi showed me how to do it."

"Then how would I get across? Can I follow you on your...um, golden pathway?"

"Probably not," I replied, cringing at the thought of Karane plunging to her doom.

"Her Grace (Karane gasped)," Fi said, coming out of the sword. "My scans indicate that if Friend Karane were to hold your hand, she would be within range of the magic emanating from you."

A surge of fear shot into my chest as images of what had happened earlier today flashed into my mind. I'd been pleased earlier, as I had assumed that they were merely gifts from the Goddess to help me on my mission. To think that I was somehow creating this stuff, was a little discomforting.

"Fi, could you please clarify what you meant when you said 'magic emanating from you'?"

"My Mistress, my memory banks indicate that the Goddess has gifted with you with magical abilities to help you on this mission."

"What kind of magical abilities?" I asked, desperate for more information.

"You must discover them on your own, Her Grace (Karane gasped again)," Fi said. "Those were the instructions from the Goddess Hylia herself to me."

She turned into a ball of light and vanished back into the sword.

"Zelda, please explain," Karane said, thoroughly confused. "Her Grace is a title reserved for the Goddess. Why is Fi calling you that?"

"Her Grace is a title for the Goddess, but according to Fi, she passed it onto me," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I don't know why. The Goddess Hylia is behind this mission, that's all I really know. Hopefully more answers will be forthcoming as we continue on this journey."

I extended a hand to Karane. Karane grabbed it and walked out with me, cringing as her feet left solid earth and onto golden light. We walked across to the other side without incident, the glowing fading as soon as we hit solid earth. To our surprise, we came upon Ledd again, talking with another Mogma.

"That woman, she is scary," Ledd said, with a sad smile on his face.

"Don't want to cross her," the other one said.

"Hi Ledd," I said, interrupting their conversation.

"Oh, these are the weird creatures I was telling you about earlier," Ledd said.

"Hush it Ledd," the other one said. He was like Ledd, but huskier and had grey hair and a small 'beard' across his snout. "These are Children from the Sky."

"You remembere us?" Karane said, amazed. "The last humans left the Surface thousands of years ago."

"The legends have been past down through the Mogma for eons," the older one said. "My name is Gulda, Chief of the Mogma. One of them spoke that the Children would one day descend to set right all wrongs. You must be them."

"Um," I said, not sure of how to react to this. "I'm not sure. But can you help us?"

"We are at your disposal," Gulda informed us.

"What have you seen go by lately?" I asked. "Anyone that looks like us is what we are after."

"A woman with an eye on her shirt came by not to long ago," Gulda said.

Karane and I exchanged glances. We knew who it was.

"Has anyone passed by that had a red cape, diamond shapes tattoed all over him, and a snotty attitude?" I asked.

"I've haven't seen anyone of that description I can recall," Gulda said. "Ledd have you've seen anyone like that recently?"

"No," Ledd said.

"Thanks Gulda," I said. "See you later."  
"You too," he said.

We moved on, going deeper into the temple. We crossed a bridge, and then ran straight into another round of Bokoblins. These were a mixture of both green and red, and there were a lot more of them, so I pulled out the harp and my sword this time.

"Zelda, why are you fighting with a harp?" Karane asked as the pack moved in.

"Watch."

The first one attacked, but I blocked its thrust with the harp. A massive 'twang' rent the air, and a flash of light blinded the Bokoblins, but not me and Karane for some odd reason. They were all stunned, but quickly recovered. By then, we were in and among them.\ They became little more than purple smoke.

"Disgusting," Karane said, wiping her sword clean of their green blood for the second time.

"You are correct," I commented, wiping my sword where she was cleaning hers.

After about another hour, in which we crossed another series of gorges, defeated another round of Bokoblins, solved several puzzles, I began to get suspicious. This was too easy. Skyview had been downright hard compared to this, and it wasn't even that bad.

"Karane, I don't get this," I said.

"What?" Karane said, confused.

"This has been too easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Something is going on here."

"What Zelda? What do you think is going on here?"

"I don't know."

We came to door, a brand new metal one that had been recently installed, like the one in the Forest Sanctuary. It was already unlocked and had been left ajar. Looking at Karane, I took in a deep breath and pushed the doors open.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

We entered a giant room, with a metal causeway floor and a large skeleton hanging overhead. We had entered a large causeway, that was suspended over a lake of lava. Ahead of us, a large ball of something lay on the ground. It looked like a cross between a ball and a spider, which was all I could make out.

"I've seen things like that come to life and they are scary," I said to Karane. "And I'm not joking. Approached it armed."

Karane didn't look completely convinced, but she followed my lead. We cautiously approached it, swords and shields drawn, worried that it might come to life. I prodded it with the Goddess Sword, but it remained motionless.

"Someone has defeated this," I concluded, the only explanation. "And there's only one person who has the skills to do it."

"Who?" Karane asked.

"Impa," I said.

We sheathed our weapons, went around the dead monster and up the causeway. I could see a door, lit up, like the one that lead to the Skyview Spring.

"That's the door to the Earth Spring, where Link is," I said. "Karane, draw your weapons and be on guard. Last time when I reached this point Ghirahim made an appearance."

Karane drew her weapons as I did the Goddess Sword. We walked slowly up to the door, but Ghirahim was absent. On my nod, we entered the Earth Spring to behold a similar sight to the Skyview Spring back in the Faron Woods. Like the barren wastelands of Eldin Volcano, we were surrounded by red ash rock cliffs, but the floor of the small crater was covered in a fountain of pure water. Small plants floated on the edge of the spring, and fish swam in the pure waters. Ahead of us was a miniature replica of the Statue of the Goddess, along with a crest resting in front of it in front of it. A stepping stone path lead from the door to the middle of the spring, ending in front of the crest and statue. And lying on the ground in front of the crest was...

"Link!" me and Karane said together, rushing towards him.

I'd only taken a step when suddenly I was seized by some invisible force. It lifted me into the air, suspended me in the air, and froze my joints. The sword and the Harp I was carrying fell into the spring, as the force made me open my hands. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Karane hadn't been effected.

"Help Karane," I said to her, as I discovered that I couldn't move an inch in either direction.

Karane stopped in her tracks, turned around and saw me paralyzed. She raced back and began to pull on my right arm, but I was trapped in place.

"My Mistress, my scans indicate another life form in this spring," Fi informed me, out loud, so that Karane could hear what she was saying.

Suddenly Karane was also immoblized in the same way.

"ZELDA!"

She flew back out of the spring, through the door, which then sealed.

"Karane," I yelled in panic as she disappeared. _What is going on here?!_

"Sorry about your friend, but we have things we need to discuss," said a very familiar voice.

"Impa?" I said, stunned.

She stepped out from behind the statue.

"Impa, please explain," I pleaded.

"You don't need an explanation," she said.

She squeezed her hand and the magic began to do something to me.

"Impa, please stop," I pleaded, as darkness began to press up my irises. "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer me.

"Impa _please._ If this is beneficial, at least tell what you are doing. If you knock me out, it won't help the Goddess..."

I touched a nerve.

"DON'T ever question my LOYALITY," Impa said in a stern voice. "On the contrary, I'm trying to _help _the Goddess."

That was the last I heard before I blacked out. Deep inside Zelda, though she didn't know it, the soul of a Goddess cried out.

_Help me Sister, please! Now's not the time. The Spirit Maiden isn't ready yet. PLEASE! Stop Impa before she accidentally kills my mortal tabernacle. SISTER HELP!_

(Out of Zelda's POV)

Impa frowned. Despite her determination, she was still incredibly nervous. She was trying to draw Hylia's Spirit out, but if she did, she feared the tongue lashing Hylia would give her. She felt Hylia's Spirit resist, heard it cry out, but it only hardened her resolve. She had to bring it out for Hylia's plan to succeed. Zelda couldn't do it alone, she had to have help, and only the resolve of the White Goddess would give her the strength to do it. Impa closed her hands, concentrating her Shiekah magic on Zelda's unconscious body.

Hylia's Spirit was putting up fanatical resistance for reasons Impa couldn't figure out. Surely it would be anxious to wake up, and finish the mission Hylia had undertaken. Yet it still wouldn't awaken, clinging stubbornly to its slumber. But the longer Impa immersed Zelda in her Shiekah magic, the harder it became for Hylia to resist. Impa could feel Hylia's Spirit begin to stir and fill Zelda's mortal frame, what she'd been looking for. But, to her surprise, Zelda's life aura began to fade. Impa increased the amount of magic, trying to get Hylia's Spirit to awaken and stablize Zelda's life force...

"IMPA! NO!" said an authoritarian voice.

The magic broke, and Zelda's limp body fell to the earth, landing in the spring. Impa turned, shocked as a figure in blue marched through the spring. She had waist-long blue hair, a bluish tinge to her white skin, deep blue eyes, and a blue dress embroidered with three half circles with a dot in the middle of each of them. Her face was something to behold, with rage engraven onto every inch of it.

The woman walked over to Zelda's limp body. She placed her hand on Zelda's forehead.

"Sleep Hylia, it's not time yet," said the woman. "Sleep my Sister, for a little while longer."

Impa blinked again, not believing her eyes. Once the woman in blue had finished, she rose again, and fixed her gaze upon Impa.

"Impa, what were you thinking?!" she said.

The ground began to shake beneath Impa's feet. Now she was scared.

"You nearly killed her. Remember your duties, don't try anything like this again, or I'll go beyond a reprimand," the woman screamed, flattening Impa out on her back with her power.

With that, she vanished into thin air, leaving nothing to indicate she was there.

(Back in Zelda's POV)

My eyes awoke to find me on my back, looking up into the blue sky. My eyes traveled over to see Impa and a woman in a blue dress rebuking her. Not just rebuking her, but laying Impa out on her back. She then departed as quickly as she had come. I was exhausted, my limbs about as strong as a leaf.

"Impa, why'd you do that?" I asked, trying to stand.

Karane came back into the spring and helped me to my feet. I leaned against her for support, as I was completely drained.

"Sorry Zelda," Impa said. "I was trying to...do somethings that I cannot tell you about now. I know you are frustrated, but one day you will understand. I shouldn't have done it. I hope you'll forgive me in time. Hurry, heal Link. Then head to the Temple of Time in Lanaryu Desert"

I would've given her a tongue lashing had I not been so weak. But Karane was more than ready to do so in my behalf.

"Impa, aren't we on the same..."

"Zelda, heal Link."

With that, Impa turned on the spot and vanished with a small 'poof'. It left us with another round of mysteries that had no answers; what was her real purpose for doing that? And who was the woman in blue? And what was Impa talking about? She had made a hurried departure, yet she had left Link behind. If she had been betraying us, she had had a prime opportunity to dispose of me and Karane, and Link would have been opened for the taking. But she hadn't done that.

"Zelda, are you okay?" she asked, sword and shield drawn.

"I'm okay," I said. "I blacked out shortly after she got rid of you."

"What happened to you?" Karane asked.

"I'll explain later," I said. "First we have to heal Link before Ghirahim shows up again."


	11. Chapter 9-Resolve

**Hello everyone. I'm so happy that I managed to get this chapter off, despite the school year beginning up again. And it's also hard to believe that a year has gone by that I decided to do this story. One more thing about Queen Saria, it isn't hard to imagine how much stress she must go under. I tried not to portray her as weak, but as feeling the strain of ruling a kingdom under siege by demons. Enough with me, let's just get on with the story!**

Chapter 9-Resolve

**"An institution or reform movement that is not selfish, must originate in the recognition of some evil that is adding to the sum of human suffering, or diminishing the sum of happiness." -Clara Barton**

I just stood there in shock after Impa's sudden departure. She had just knocked me out and hadn't even bothered to explain what she was doing. But it was a mystery to be contemplated later. Link was the number one priority.

"Fi, can you please explain to me how to heal Link," I asked, eager to get started. I was sure it was like how I'd done it at Skyview, but I wasn't sure what she wanted me to do.

Fi appeared out of the sword.

"Another message from the Goddesses has awakened within my memory banks," Fi said. "Let me translate for you and Friend Karane."

Fi rose high into the air, and created once again the cloud that had immersed her at the Skyview Spring.

"Whooo...," Karane said, amazed. "It's...beautiful."

"That's only the start of what she's about to do," I said. "Watch."

Fi began to move around the spring in her signature 'dance'. She rose into the air, spun a couple of times, then came back down and skidded on the surface of the spring.

"_My Sister, from the edge of time I guide you, the One destined to carry out the Goddess's Mission. The Hero who descended from the clouds has passed through the Earth Spring and makes his way to a fated place. The parched desert of Lanayru... That is where the Chosen will pass through the Gate of Time into a distant world._

_"My Sister, many questions I know you have. All your answers will come in these words, listen closely; those of destiny find what they seek in our own reflections."_

Fi settled back down and skirted the top of the spring, floating until she was hovering in front of us.

"Spirit Maiden, please kneel in the sacred waters and pray to the Goddess," Fi said. "Friend Karane, your prayers will help also."

"Okay," we said together.

Both Karane and I kneeled in the spring. Despite having done this before, I was very nervous, mindful of what had happened the last time I'd tried this. As I knelt and began to pray, the same thing happened (here we go again!). Except this time it was twice as painful as a new deluge of images forced their way into my brain, adding themselves to my own memories. My head felt like it was going to explode. I gripped my forehead as darkness closed in all around me. I fell to the earth and blacked out...

_I saw the top of a large hill overlooking a large city. The Goddess Hylia stood on this overlook with a sad expression on her majestic face. She looked upwards as a majestic blue bird flew down from the heavens, and landed at Hylia's feet._

_"Her Grace, you called," it said, bowing deeply._

_ A pale hand reached out and brushed the Loftwing's head._

_"I have a mission for you," Hylia said._

_"I am at your command," the Loftwing said, bowing so deep that it's beak touched the ground._

_"I need you to assist the Spirit Maiden, Vella."_

_"As I wished," the blue Loftwing said. "How will you do it? You know she'll live many years into the future, beyond my lifesspan."_

_"Your spirit will be bound to hers," Hylia said, still stroking the Loftwing. "When she comes forth, so will you."_

_ Vella cawed with great joy._

_"There will be conditions. You will not remember who you are until she awakens for her journey. Be there for her, and help guide her."_

_"I will," Vella said._

_ The scenery changed to the temple I'd seen in my first vision. A woman, walked into the temple. She was wearing a green gown decorated with many different symbols, and a sash that hung off of her waits, that had a coat of arms on it. On her forehead was a crown that was woven into her brown hair, which shade perfectly matched her brown eyes. She walked over to Hylia who was standing by a window, looking up into the sky. Hylia turned to face her. She gave the Queen a gentle gaze, and a comforting smile made it's way onto her lips._

_"Good morning Sarah," Hylia said._

_ The Queen gasped and, her regal facade dropped._

_"No one has called me that since my parents died," Queen Saria said. "No one. I had forbade it. It brought back too many painful memories of my past."_

_ Hylia approached the shorter woman and placed her hands on the Queen's shoulders._

_"You've been through so much, but you'll still have to go through a lot more with your people," she said. _

_"Hylia, can't you just end it?" Saria asked, starting to lose her compsoure. "You are a goddess, not a mortal unlike me. One who allowed herself to be hoodwinked by a nefarious lord and let him run her country into the ground before I realized my mistake. And luckily, I still have a son and a daughter to cherish."_

_ Hylia brought the broken Queen into an embrace. Saria lost her composure and began to bawl into Hylia's shoulder._

_"I just can't watch more of my people slain," she whimpered. "It's too much for me to bear."_

_ Hylia rubbed the Queen's back and cooed a lullaby. Saria felt a feeling of hope leak into her chest as Hylia's soft voice washed over her, displacing some of the sadness that still remained. _

_"I'm going to be blunt Saria," Hylia said. "I can't defeat him."_

_ Saria let out a horrified gasp and tears began to flow afresh. The Queen nuzzled deeper into Hylia's embrace, seeking more comfort from her patron Goddess._

_"You...you...can't...but...what..." _

_"I just realized that. I already had a plan in place and it __**stays **__in place. I'm going to send you and our people to the Sky."_

_"You've already told us that," Saria said, still sobbing. "How will you do it?"_

_"Tell everyone to gather at the castle tomorrow morning. I'll rend the earth and send you to the heavens, safely above the chaos."_

_"Is the Land of Hylia beyond saving?" Saria asked, finally breaking the embrace and looking at Hylia with a pleading look in her tear stained eyes._

_"Saria, the love for the land and your people has made you the finest ruler of our people that I've seen," Hylia said._

_"Thanks, but not many share your opinion of me."_

_"Do their opinions matter?" Hylia asked bluntly._

_"Well, if my subjects don't like me, how will I be able to help them?"_

_"It's up to them if they'll accept what you are willing to do for them," Hylia said. "Humans have their agency. The only thing you need to care about is what I think.""_

_ Queen Saria nodded._

_"You are aware I told them when I first came down from the heavens that I will send you and our people to the Sky."_

_"Yes."_

_"It's time to set it into process. Link has finished preparing the Master Sword and the Surface tribes have arisen to our aid. Send a proclamation telling everyone to gather at the castle near the temple in the morning, and go there yourself. I will rend the ground with the Master Sword and send you high, even above the clouds, with enough provisions and land to serve your descendants for thousands of years."_

_"Sounds like it's still going to be close," Saria said, a hint of doubt in her voice. _

_"It'll happen and you will be safe," Hylia said. "Stay strong. You will have to lead our people through the early years. The new life will be rough, and you must teach them to have your strength. You have my blessing upon you and your descendents who will follow you."_

_"Thank you Hylia," Saria said, throwing her arms around the White Goddess._

_ As Hylia returned the embrace, Saria aired one more nagging doubt that had been gnawing away at her._

_"But if you can't defeat Demise...I've seen his power. Will he still reach us?" _

_"Calm your fears Saria," Hylia said. "Leave Demise for me and Link to deal with."_

_"Yes Your Grace," Saria said, still not completely convinced._

_ Hylia walked up to the queen, and pulled her into an another embrace. _

_"Stay strong and be of good courage," Hylia whispered into Saria's ear, wiping away the Queen's tears. Where she touched, the blotchy redness the tears had created vanished. "And guard the sacred relics I will leave you. Let no one know of them except a select few that you trust. Pass them down through your descendants."_

_ When Hylia withdrew from the embrace, Saria saw that the Goddess had left a harp in her hands._

_"Wait Hylia, I can't take this. This is one of your most valued possessions."_

_"Keep the harp and pass it down. It'll help safeguard your people."_

_"Thanks Hylia," Saria said, resolute. "I will guard it with my life."_

_"No bowing. We are equals."_

_ Saria gave Hylia another hug then left the temple at top speed to send out the proclamation. Hylia turned to leave, but she didn't. She walked down a dark stone passageway, then down another until she was under the magnificent statue that her people had erected hundreds of years before._

_ She raised her arms and let her power seep out into the surrounding rock. Slowly the rock cleared away effortlessly until a series of chambers and rooms emerged. Hylia opened her hands and a three golden triangle symbol emerged, __**the Ultimate Power. **__Hylia walked through the newly-carved caverns, splitting the triangles into three pieces, and hiding each one in a separate room. After she had finished and ascended back toward her temple, she used her powers to carve out one final room that looked exactly like the Chamber of the Sword. _

_ She created a small stone imprint like the one that had held the Goddess Sword. Then the Goddess left, sealing the cavern behind her. She walked out of the temple and looked around. Behind her stood an impressive army of Kikwis, Ancient Robots, Mogmas, Gorons, and Parellas, along with a few remaining humans dotting their ranks, stood ready. The Gorons in particular were roaring an impressive battle cry, carring hammers and rocks and swinging their enormous fists. _

_ She was joined by a male figure, who looked exactly like Link, except he was older and had a few scars on his arms and wrists. He wore a green uniform like the one we were supposed to have received, gauntlets on his wrists, brown pants along with chainmail that was part of his uniform. He had a red scarf tied about his neck and he held a magnificent sword that looked like the Goddess Sword at his side. Hylia stood next to him, and his voice boomed out._

_"Creatures of the world below. Your prayers from afar won't vanquish the demons. The Humans have been at war, and vast numbers of them have fallen. Do not let their deaths be in vain. Now, you must go to their aid..."_

"Zelda, Zelda," someone said, shaking me.

My eyes flickered open to reveal Karane's concerned face above me. I was on the platform in the center of the spring, and the sun was setting in the sky, indicating that I'd been out for a while.

"How have I been out?" I queried.

"About two hours," Karane said. "You were mumbling while you were out. Something about a Queen Saria, Link, and Hylia. What happened? You were just fine, until you crashed into the water after about a minute of praying."

I pondered for a moment before giving her an answer.

"I can't explain it really," I said. "Each time I do this, I get memories of what happened during the Great War. I can't explain why, but they must serve some purpose."

We looked at each other when it hit us.

"LINK!" we said together.

Together, we raced up to the platform and I pulled up Link's shirt. The scar was gone. I'd done it. He was healed! Hopefully he'd wake up...

"Not again," I moaned, as both of up rose up into the air, immobilized by a painfully familiar sensation. "Impa, please stop this."

It lifted us into the air. Impa appeared in front of us.

"I must confess myself disappointed in you Zelda," Impa said.

"What do you mean by that?" I retorted. "When you did something to me that knocked me out."

Impa ignored us, instead turning to where Link was lying in front of the mini Goddess Statue. He was beginning so stir, slowly his eyelids flickered open and strength returned to his limbs. His eyes roved over Impa, Karane, and then to me. My heart leapt into my chest.

"What happened? Zelda...Impa?"

I wanted to call out to him, but every one of my muscles had been paralyzed.

"Link, you need to move on," Impa told him, grabbing him by the shoulders. "And learn of your new mission."

"But Zelda...the mission?" Link protested. "My job was to get the Goddess Sword."

His eyes locked onto me and Karane, still frozen solid. His eyes scanned me, causing me to blush slightly. His eyes latched onto the sword at my waist. A look of horror washed over his face as he realized what it meant.

"Has been changed," Impa said. "The Goddess Sword has bonded with Zelda. Her mission is now yours."

She waved her hand, and created a pillar of blue light behind her in the spring.

"You must do it Link, or no one will survive what is to come," Impa told him.

With a nod and very reluctantly, Link turned and walked into the blue light she had created, giving us a pained expression as he left. My heart ached as he disappeared I'd accomplished my goal of healing him and, but I'd lost him for the third time.

"Spirit Maiden, muster up some of your courage and discover your true identity, only then will you be able to help the Hero."

She walked into the light and it vanished. The holds on me and Karane vanished, letting us crash back into the clear waters of the spring.

"Why that..." Karane began.

The door blasted open and in came the last person I wanted to see.

"It's Ghirahim," I said without a shade of doubt in my voice.

We both drew our swords and shields to defend ourselves as the late Demon Lord made his appearance. He looked around the spring and his gaze focused on us.

"Well if it isn't the clumsy girl and her friend, I was so close," he said, gripping one fist as he walked into the spring, holding his black blade. "Looks like I have an audience, and I will vent to you."

Karane and I looked at each other nervously.

"Only if that servant dog of the Goddess hadn't got there," he said.

Anger began to permeate my body and both of us assume battle stances.

""No matter. I sense that his presence has faded from this place," he said. "But I will find him. Mark my words. Consider yourselves lucky that I didn't have to let my friend deal with you."

With that he vanished, leaving both of us confused and dazed. Why hadn't he attacked? But I wasn't focused on that. I felt shame, and the sense of failure. I dropped to my knees.

"Zelda, what's wrong?" Karane asked.

"We...I failed," I said.

The guilt tore a huge hole in my heart and tears began to streak from my eyes, but I wiped them away. I was also angry; why had Impa done what she did? What would've it've accomplished? I'd let her have it if she was still here, but she was gone with Link. I had to get to Lanayru as quickly as possible.

"We must hurry to wherever we need to go next," I told Karane. "We need to return to the sky pronto."

"My Mistress," Fi said, appearing out of the sword. "You were in the Fire Sanctuary for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Strike the crest with a Skyward Strike in front of me."

She moved out of the way to reveal the crest resting in front of the Statue. I raised the Goddess Sword to the sky and felt its vibrant reaction to the energy that flowed into the blade. I swung it down and the beam of light hit the crest. Karane let out a gasp of amazement as the crest spun into the air and began to glow.

Another old fragment of stone appeared, this one with a golden spot on it. It glowed then flew across the spring, landing in my arms.

"Thanks Fi," I said.

"Can I hold it?" Karane asked.

"Sure."

I handed the old tablet over to her. She turned it over in her hands a couple of times, feeling the worn surface of the rock.

"So, what does it do?" she asked.

"It opens a hole in the clouds to another area on the Surface," I said.

"Yes My Mistress and Friend Karane," Fi confirmed. "I'll take it for safekeeping."

Karane handed the old tablet to her and it disappeared.

"Yes My Mistress," she said.

Fi vanished back into the sword.

"Time to head back to Skyloft," I said to Karane. "We need to get to this Lanaryru as quickly as possible."

"How?" Karane asked.

"This way," I said, leading her to a worn-down bird statue at the edge of the spring.

"Uh, Zelda, this is a statue," Karane said as I came to a stop in front of it. "How will it get us up there?"

"Pull out your Sailcloth, and hold onto it tight."

I pulled out my Sailcloth and so did Karane. The Statue glowed and we shot up into the sky, with Karane screaming all the way. It was actually a little fun now that I'd done it before. We shot above the clouds, and went into free fall. Both of us whistled and Vella and Needa caught each of their respective riders. Vella took off towards Skyloft with Needa following.

_**Welcome back Her Grace. **_

Vella cawed gently as we flew and put some distance between us, Karane, and Needa.

_**You missed him again, did you?**_

I didn't answer.

_**Have faith Zelda. All will turn out well soon.**_

_Thanks Vella._

_**Anything, Her Grace.**_

We were now soaring over the island of Skyloft.

_Vella please put us down right next to the Academy._

_**Yes Her Grace.**_

Vella landed next to the Statue of the Goddess and lowered herself to allow me to get off easily. Meanwhile, Needa followed us and landed roughly on the ground nearby. Karane had to clamber off. both our Loftwings flew off into the sky.

"When has Vella started doing that?" Karane said shocked.

"What?" I asked.

"Letting you off easily?" she asked.

"It's a recent development," I conceded, not eager to disclose more.

Now we had our next challenge; sneaking into the Knight Academy without facing a barrage of questions. Now that Link and I had been gone two days, not just one, and Link's disappearance would now be widely known. The Wing Ceremony festivities were also about to come to a close, with the Closing Ceremony Dinner Dance tonight.

"So, how we do it? Get in," Karane asked. "Without getting indundated."

"Well," I said biting my lip. "We are going to face questions sooner or later. We'll need to talk with my father to decide what to say."

"Should we just go for it?" Karane asked.

"I know of a way we can get in, but we will have to just run for it for the first part."

We both ran down the stairs, and aside from my customary trip on the bottom stair, we did just fine. We ran to the Academy without being seen by anyone. I ran to some wooden boxes piled off to the side, near the Sparring Hall, and began to climb.

"Zelda, what are you doing?" Karane said as I ascended the boxes.

"There is a secret way Link and I used to get out of the Knight Academy, we can use it to get in," I said.

"So that's how you two managed to completely vanish for hours on end," Karane said.

"Yes it is," I confirmed.

We clambered up the side of the Academy and to a small air vent located right on top of the roof.

"Here," I said, pulling up the grate.

I dropped my stuff down into the passageway and went into it, followed by Karane and her pack. Slowly we wended our way down the small passageway until we reached another grate, which I kicked out. We dropped down from it into my room. It was nice to be home after another hour's long escapade on the Surface, except for the absence of my best friend.

"Now what?" Karane said, hoisting her bag back onto her back.

"Visit my Father," I said.

We both went to the door and peered out into the corridor. Nobody was there, and I just carried the Goddess Sword, concealed within my pack to my Father's office. We burst in, to find him buried in an ancient volume.

"Father, we're back," I squealed as we burst in.

My father was up on his feet in an instant.

"Zelda."

I leapt into his arms and felt some of the chasm in my chest filled. After our reunion, Karane gave him a curtsy and I pulled out the Goddess Sword.

"Did you find Link?"

"Yes and no," I said, perplexed. "I think Fi can tell you better than we can. It's quite the tale."

"I'll be glad to hear about it," Father said. "The Surface is very fascinating and I'm glad you are part of the Goddess Mission."

"There is another problem," I said. "Link's disappearance, and mine will become common knowledge. Questions are going to be asked. What should we tell them?"

My father thought over it for a minute.

"I think you should tell them that Link has been lost," my Father said. "It's the best we can do. We can't really tell them anything else. When he makes it back, then we'll worry about what we will tell them then. But keep the knowledge of the Surface to yourselves, or the select few that you implicitly trust to keep a major secret. And one more thing, you will have to face the Academy and Skyloft."

A look of horror splashed across my face.

"Zelda, I'd liked to protect you and isolate you, but that's just not an option," my father explained to me. "We must stop any rumors from spreading. Tell them we are searching, as is what we do when we are looking for someone who has fallen off."

"You two are dismissed."

Both of us left my Father's office, leaving the sword behind so Fi could tell Father about our recent ventures.

"Are you sure you will be able to face them?" Karane asked me.

"It'll be hard but I'll cope," I said, heading towards my room.

Over the next three hours I bathed, rested, and washed the dress and sandals Fi had provided me. The dress itself was amazing; the dirt came right off and yet the cloth remained as intact as the day I'd received them.

I dressed in a light blue skirt, top, and headband before laying down on my bed again, just staring up at the ceiling, pondering on what had happened today and reviewing the new batch of memories. They'd verified most of the legends that had been passed down among our people for eons, but they had also added many new details. What was the Ultimate Power? I knew that the Demon King, or Demise, had been after it, but what was so great about it to drive such a Great War?

And Queen Saria presented the biggest enigma of all. _Pass this down through your descendants..._the Harp had come down from my mother's line and it looked exactly like the one entrusted to Queen Saria by Hylia. Could it be the same Harp? But the biggest question..._Could I be a descendent of the Queen, of Royal Blood? _There was no way to prove it, except for the Harp's existence throughout my ancestral line. Yet another question I added to the list I would have to ask the Old Woman in the Sealed Grounds when I returned.

After about an hour of this, the door opened, and Karane entered, her hair in its signature two braided style and dressed in an outfit similar to mine.

"Zelda, I think we should go down to the Bazaar and pack up on supplies for tomorrow," she said.

I mulled it over for a minute. Already being ready would ensure a quick and ready departure for tomorrow, something that would be beneficial to us avoiding the onslaught of questions that would surely come.

"Okay," I said, getting up from the bed.

I followed Karane out of my room and down the stairs. We went outside of the doors past the Sparring Hall, which was abuzz with the chattering of hundreds of people and down to the Bazaar, which was surrounded by people. I gritted my teeth and followed Karane into the crowd.


	12. Chapter 10-Celebrations

**Wow, I'm amazed I actually am getting this chapter out today (fireworks go off in the background). So, I wanted to explore some of the culture of Skyloft. It's okay, next chapter it'll be off to Lanayru Desert! Read and enjoy! I'd also like to give a shout out to some people, namely Anonymous StalkerFriend, Batch 03, EpicWolfGuy, Hanashi o suru, HeartZelda, MercanaryCrime, SapphireBlueSea, Yellowie17, , cherryfull, dbzgtfan2004, loveofthegame, windme, and zeldareborn for faving and following my story. And especially thanks to CherryPerkyPie, who has been kind enough to read and review each chapter. I highly recommend her story, Worth a Goddess Ransom. Read on and enjoy!**

Chapter 10-Festivities

"A nation's culture resides in the heart and soul of its people."-Mahatma Gandhi

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me."-Henry Ford

We weaved our way through the crowd, getting jostled by lots of people. It looked like the entire population of Skyloft had turned out for the occasion. Stands had appeared all around the island, with people harking their wares. Torches had been lit and strung out all along Skyloft to light up the area, and to help keep the Remlits and Keese in check. We kept an eye out for Groose and his cronies; they were the last people we wanted to run into. We went into the Bazaar, which was crowded as it usually was on a holiday like this.

"Where to first?" Karane asked.

"Luv's place first," I said, adjusting my bag, which I had brought to store what we were going to buy.

We went over to Luv's place to see she was very busy. People were buying up her concoctions left and right, but she gave us her undivided attention when we showed up.

"Karane and Zelda, three visits in the last two days, you must be working very hard," she said with her typical sweet smile.

"Hi Luv," we both said together.

We both went behind the stall and gave her a hug.

"How are my favorite girls doing?"

"Couldn't be better," I said, stretching the truth to breaking point. "Could you give us some more heart potions?"

"Sure," she said. "What is it know with you needing so many potions?"

Both Karane and I looked at each other.

"Well Luv," I said, treading carefully. "We are beginning a rigorous training course at the Academy."

Karane nodded rapidly to support my concoction.

"And we need a lot of heart potions to help treat the inevitable injuries," I said.

"Really?" Luv said, considering our story. "I'll stop charging you girls for the potions then. Consider it a gift."

"Thanks Luv," I squealed, giving her another hug.

She ladled the potion into the empty glass bottles I'd given her. Once she had finished filling them, I stuffed them into the bag. Karane glanced over to the main stall in the Bazaar ran by a weird shopkeeper we'd nicknamed Mr. Eager due to the way he greeted potential customers. He sold everything from new shields to arrows and bombs.

"Do you want to buy something?" I asked.

"No, not really," she said, eyeing an Iron Shield neither of us could afford.

As we left Luv's stall and headed for the one ran by Mallara, Karane suddenly stopped and looked behind us.

"What?"

"I thought I saw Pippit through the crowd," she said. "Usually he's on night patrol."

Both of us scanned the crowd rather nervously; Groose was one thing, but neither of us was really keen to run into any classmates at this point in time. Pippit was a good friend, but even Karane seemed to be wary of encountering him at this moment in time. Neither of us were sure how he would react to our all day absence.

"Well, let's keep moving," I said. "Groose might be out there."

"You're right," Karane said rather resultantly.

We reached Mallara's shop to find her busy handing out dried goods to dozens of customers.

"Hi Mallara," I said, sliding behind the counter to give her a hug.

"Nice to see you again Zelda," Mallara said, returning the embrace. "And you Karane as well, come on."

Karane also gave Mallara a hug.

"What can I do for you ladies today?" she asked.

"Dried out fruit please," I asked.

She handed both of us large amounts of dried stamina fruit, purium fruit (a small purple variety that grows wild on the trees of Skyloft), geranium fruit that melts in your mouth when you eat it, and dried out pumpkin. We put them into the bag and payed her accordingly.

"Thanks Mallara," I said, popping a geranium into my mouth.

"Take care both of you," she said.

With the bag filled we made our way through the crowd, heading towards the exits. I turned to look to my right and to my horror locked eyes with Groose who was about ten feet away from us.

"Karane, let's get out of here," I said, pulling her with me.

"What?"

"Look to your right."

She looked and immediately followed me. Groose began to push through the crowd, easily parting it due to his large size.

"Zelda, wait up," he called above the din.

"Keep moving," I hissed to Karane.

We pushed, and prodded, somehow managing to keep a respective distance between us and big, fat, and ugly. We broke into the open and made a beeline for the Knight Academy, with Groose in hot pursuit.

"Zelda, wait up, what's wrong...

We and hurdled the last steps from the Bazaar back to the Knight Academy in our rush to get away. But Groose was gaining on us, his red pompadour flapping in the wind as he moved towards us. As we passed by the Sparring Hall, I chanced a glance behind us. Groose was too close for comfort. I pulled Karane towards the hall.

"Why are we going there for?" Karane asked.

"To lose him, it's our only chance."

Both of us entered to find the Closing Ceremony Dance and Dinner event in progress. Couples were dancing in the middle of the floor while many students and Skyloft residents were talking and milling about on the edges Both Karane and I moved through the crowd, dodging dancers and invitations to dance. But Groose wasn't far behind us.

After about five minutes of this, we somehow managed to lose him in the crowd for a while. We made our way over to the sweets table. Pies made from Stamina Fruit, locally grown pumpkin pie, and Loftwing crepes; treats made from white wheat mixed with Geranium fruit slices and baked in the shape of a miniature Loftwing, simply the best. Similarly flavored bread loafs and pumpkin juice fresh from the Lumpy Pumpkin completed the dishes available tonight it was more than enough to make our mouths water. We took advantage of the opportunity and loaded up with sweets and bread and located a table, and sat down, at the back of the Sparring now turned dance hall.

Many times we had to turn down invitations to dance while we ate. Once we had finished, we started to leave when we saw Groose towering above the crowd.

"Won't that bozo ever give up?" I asked.

Suddenly Groose caught up to us.

"Don't touch me," I said automatically.

I felt my hands warm up. I glanced down and immediately felt my stomach go south. They were glowing again, and in the dim light of the dance, they were quite visible. I buried them in the folds of my dress.

"Karane, we have to get out of here, now!" I said to her in a panicked voice.

Karane took one look at my hands and understood. She was holding a glass of pumpkin juice, so she tipped it over...the orange liquid spilled all over Groose's dress pants and soaked his shoes. I tried to stop the giggles that threatened to erupt all over me.  
"Oopps," Karane said.

"What the..." Groose said.

That split second 'what the' enabled us to disappear into the crowd again. Groose was soon lost from view as he tried to dry off his wet trousers. We took advantage, moving along the walls to the exit, where we escaped through the twin doors.

"What's going on?" Karane asked. "You know, with your hands?"

"I don't know," I moaned. "They do this then fade."

I pulled my hands out of my dress to show her when we were walking alone. They were glowing bright enough that they could been seen quite clearly in the night.

"Let's get you into the Knight Academy until they fade," Karane said. "We can't have anyone seeing anything that we can't explain clearly."

We both made a beeline for the vacated Academy and flung open one of the doors.

"Ow," said someone behind it.

Both Karane and I froze. We both knew who that was, and we really didn't want to run into him at this point in time. We both pulled the door back to reveal a sandwiched Pippit dressed in his best Knight Uniform. I quickly buried my hands into my dress again.

"Zelda, Karane," he said, surprised. "Where have you been? I haven't seen Zelda since the other day, and you Karane (Karane blushed a light pink) since this morning. Where have you been?"

Karane and I exchanged looks before answering carefully.

"We were out flying today," I invented. "We had a picnic alone in the sky islands."

"Yes, we just decided that it was to be a girls' only event," Karane added.

"Oh," Pippit said. "It must've been a long affair. Both of you were gone for nearly eight hours."

"Well we decided to spend more time out on the islands," I added.

"Okay...uh Zelda, why is your dress glowing?"

I looked down and to my horror saw that my light emitting hands had _increased _in intensity to the point that they were glowing through my dress.

"Uh, it's...um...it's nothing," I said.

Karane moved in front of me to conceal my dress. I quickly hid my hands behind my back.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" Pippit asked.

The answer was yes, but we couldn't tell him that.

"No," I lied, sparing Karane. "We've got things to do in my room. Bye."

We both tried to run but Pippit grabbed my hand to stop us, exposing it in all of its shining glory. I gulped as I watched his eyes grew big. We were caught literally red-handed. I braced myself for his reaction.

"You aren't going anywhere until you tell me what's going on here," Pippit demanded. "Why is your hand glowing?"

"I'm not sure," I answered truthfully. "It's just started...Pippit, let's just say all the legends that we were told as bedtime stories are coming true."

"What?" Pippit said, confused.

"Look, I'll explain later...

He let go of my hand, which I quickly hid behind my back. Suddenly we heard footsteps coming towards the door.

"Groose," Karane and I said, looking at each other. "Sorry Pippit. Bye."

Both of us bolted up the stairs, I being careful to avoid tripping while on our way up.

"To where?" Karane asked.

"My room."

Both of us bolted into my room and slammed the door shut,

"We had to shut out Pippit," Karane said, very worried. "What will he think?"

I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Look, he'll understand in due time," I said. "But we need to keep it a secret, even from him. Quiet."

We heard Groose stop outside my door and try it; I promptly locked it. I looked at Karane and indicated the grate. We pulled a chair over to it, and climbed into the air duct as Groose's sweet song voice started to float through the door.

"Zelda, I know you are in there," he said.

"No I'm not," I whispered as I climbed into the air vent, followed by Karane. We put the grate back in place and began to crawl down the passageway again.

"Two times in one day," Karane said. "I never thought I'd be doing this."

"This is nothing," I said. "Once Link and I went through the grate seven times to steal pumpkin juice."

"What? Wait, were you two the reason why the all the pumpkin juice for the end of year party all disappeared?" Karane asked.

"Uhhh, not really," I said. "We were busy siphoning some away when Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch saw what we were doing and decided to try their luck. As we took off to get away before Henya could catch us, Link bumped a pitcher containing some kind of sauce. It spilled, the three of them slipped on it and went head first into the large basin containing the pumpkin juice. It spilled everywhere, put out the fire in the grate, and doused the three idiots. We were heading up the stairs when Henya arrived back to check on why smoke was billowing out of the kitchen. She forced them to help her clean the entire Academy for nearly three months."

"Where to next?" Karane asked. "We really can't afford your hands doing that...thing in the middle of the crowds."

"How about playing a game?" I asked.

"Great idea," Karane said.

We snuck onto the top of the Knight Academy to see Groose sulking off to who knows where. When he was out of sight, we went back down into the Knight Academy. Karane raced up the stairs to her room and returned a few minutes later with a game board. Similar to checkers the game is called 'Wing It'. The idea is to 'fly' your Loftwing pieces across the board to the other side. You can 'block' the other pieces, but you must be careful, as you must get your pieces to the other side as well. Link, as usual, is a master at it, while I've never really gotten the hang of it despite his tutelage.

We went downstairs to the kitchens, chose the table closest to the wall that kind of hid you from view from the rest of the kitchen, set up the board and began to play. I lost the first game, and nearly won the second. We were in the middle of the third game when someone sat down next to Karane. Karane took one look and immediately blushed a deep red.

"Hello girls," Pippit said in a serious voice. "I want some answers."

Karane and I looked at each other in panic. We hadn't come up with any answers that we would both give so that we wouldn't contradict each other. Pippit seemed to notice.

"Zelda, where have you been the last two days? Karane, where have you been all of today? And where is Link? And Zelda, will you please explain your comment to me earlier? And your glowing hands?"

I grabbed for the first thing that entered my mind.

"Well, I've been around," I said, avoiding his gaze. "Recovering from Link's disappearance. I've just been flying around, you just haven't seen me in a while. As for my hands, Pippit, the tornado was just the beginning of strange happenings. I think something is happening, that has to do with the ancient legends. I can't explain anything beyond that."

"I see," Pippit said, clearly not convinced.

"Possibly yes," I said. "Look, you can't tell anyone about my hands. They'll think I'm a freak or something like that."

"Well they must mean something," Pippit said, displaying his usual cool demeanor.

"We are investigating that," I said. "Keep it quiet from Groose to as well. He's the _last _person we want to find out _anything _about what we are doing."

Pippit looked at both of us.

"I promise I'll keep it a secret, but I'd like to help in any way that I can," he said.

Karane looked at me.

"Well, we can find something for you and we'll let you know," I promised.

I yawned.

"I'm tired, so I'm going to bed," I said, starting towards the stairs.

"Wait Zelda," Karane said, getting up. "I'm also going to bed. Bye Pippit."

She turned away before he could see her blush and we left the room. We began to go up the stairs.

"Someday uh," Karane said.

"Someday," I repeated. "Tomorrow will be an epic as well."

"We'll see."


	13. Chapter 11-Lanayru Beckons

**Hello, I'm back. I know it's been awhile, but this chapter took awhile to churn out. Now, about the quote from Rogue One, the movie hasn't been released yet, but the teaser trailer has been and that's were the quote comes from. Enjoy! Special thanks to CherryPerkiePie, who's suggestion has heavily influenced this chapter.**

Chapter 11-Time Change

"**It is my earnest hope, and indeed, the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion, a better world will emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past**." -Douglas MacArthur, (General) U.S. Army

"**This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel**."-Jyn Erso, _Rogue One; A Star Wars Story_

I was awakened the next morning by a frantic Karane. When my eyes opened, she was shaking me, already dressed in her tan Knight Uniform and with her bag slung over her right shoulder. A bowl of a hot steaming liquid was on my nightstand that hadn't been there when I'd gone to bed the night before, and she had a panicked look on her face.

"Wuzzaup," I said, wanting to roll over in my bed and go back to sleep.

"We overslept," she said in a panicked voice.

I jolted up, now wide awake, and looked out the window. Sure enough the Sun was just rising above the clouds. To make matters worse, I heard chatter outside my room, which meant most of the students were up already up. How'd we sleep in so late?

"Oh great," I said to her, dread bubbling up into my stomach.

"I woke up late too," Karane said. "So I braved the crowds, and gathered all of us stuff and your breakfast."

"Good thinking," I said.

"I'll need to stop by Mom's house as well," she added.

"Okay," I said, flinging off the covers. "Let me get dressed and we'll try to get out of here without attracting too much atttention."

My hair was a disaster, but I couldn't really pay too much attention to it right now. I ran into my dressing room, changed out of my nightgown, into my white dress and sandals as quickly as possible. I downed the bowl of porridge, and pulled my bag over my shoulder. It was then I realized that my sword was missing.

"Karane, do you know what happened to my sword?" I asked, coming out of my dressing room.

"I gave them to Eagus, the Dueling Instructor," Karane said. "For safekeeping. He promised to keep them away from prying eyes."

I breathed a sigh of relief; letting her in on the secret was a good idea. Karane had been such a big help on this quest, especailly providing some company on the lonely Surface. Karane and I looked at each other, took a deep breath, and opened the door. The student body was out and about, with students emerging from their dorm rooms and heading to the classrooms and cafeteria for breakfast.

We squeezed into the crowd, trying to keep a low profile, as though we were just going to class like everyone else. We headed down the stairs, with me holding onto Karane's arm to keep myself from taking another embarassing, attention-consuming tumble.

"Zelda," said a sweetsong voice that made my heart sink into my stomach.

"Red alert," I said, using the code word for trouble.

We plowed ahead into the crowd, being jostled by the student body. We both took refuge in the girls' bathroom, slamming the door shut behind us. Karane and I slumped against the wall, breathing in heavily.

"Close call," I said, heading towards the mirror.

I grabbed a comb from off of the sink, examined my reflection in the mirror, and began to put my hair in order.

"So, what do you think Lanaryu will be like?" Karane asked, as I combed my hair.

"I'm not sure," I anwsered.

I heard a knock on the door. It hastened my combing. I just let my hair flow lazily down my back. I really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Let's get out of here," I said.

We opened the door to see another girl, Hela standing outside. She was one of the younger students, having just been admitted to the Knight Academy. She was wearing her blue Beginner's Knight Uniform and had her black hair in a ponytail.

"Hello Zelda, Karane," she said with a smile. "Where are you off to?"

"Class," Karane said.

"Loftwing Flying," I added, catching on.  
"Oh," she said shyly, with a hint of admiration in her voice. "I can't wait until I'm able to do that."

"In due time," I said. "We'd love to stay and chat but we must go."

Hela went into the restroom, closing the door behind her.

"Good one," Karane said. "One more thing; I talked to the Headmaster. He's going to give us an exception from school for the next two weeks. We are going to be in 'field training' by Professor Owlan."

'Field Training' was when prospective Knights of Skyloft were trained literally in the field, tagging along with the full time Knights of Skyloft.

"Good, that should put an end to any rumors," I said.

We pushed open the twin wooden doors and went into the outside world. When we emerged we saw people all over Skyloft cleaning up the mess that had been generated by the festival. We opened the door and went inside. The hall had been restored back to normal, with all the usual training back in place. Eagus, the Sparring Instructor, was waiting for us. He had the Goddess Sword and Karane's equipment lying against the back wall.

"The Headmaster has told me of your mission," he said, possbly seeing my stricken face. "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret. I've taken the liberty of sharpening and cleaning your equipment for you. But your sword Zelda is something else."  
He turned around and picked up the Goddess Sword.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"It's the finest craftsmanship I've ever seen, and it heats up whenever I would touch it," he said. "I eventually had to use heavy gloves and an entire bucketful of water, and even then it wasn't fully effective."

"It has...powers," I said, picking it up and strapping it to my waist. "That I can't explain."

"I know," Eagus said. "The Headmaster has explained it to me. Good luck and remember your training."

"We will," I assured him.

We left, heading for the residentail quarter of Skyloft. We weaved our way through the houses and until we reached one near the graveyard. Similiar to the traditional Skyloft house, it was different in that it was constructed of a unique purple and orange brick native to the Sky Islands, rather than the traditional color scheme, which came from the quarry on the southern part of Skyloft.

"Mom, I'm home," Karane called, opening the door.

Karane's mother Dione walked from upstairs into the sitting room. She was wearing a red dress, had her untamed, frayed brown hair flowing lazily down her back, and was barefoot. There was an air of laziness about her, but everyone knew differently. Dione was one of the most hard-working woman on Skyloft and she was invovled in the planning for nearly every major event and festival held. She'd been the main planner for the Wing Ceremony this year. Karane was so like her, execpt for her personaly hygeine, that her father joked that they should have named her Dione.

"Hello Karane, this is a surprise," Dione said as she gave her only child a hug. "And Zelda, sorry about Link."

Dione gave me a hug too. To me and Link, Dione was like our mother, both of us having lost ours at an early age. She had taken us in before we had secured residence at the Knight Academy and had raised us as if we were her own offspring.

"It's okay," I said. "May I use your bathroom?"

"Yes you may," she said with a sweet smile on her face.

Finally I was able to fix my hair and take care of other things before our descent to the Surface again. When I emerged, Dione was waiting for me.

"Karane has filled me on your mission," she said, noticing the shocked look on my face. "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret from everyone, but I need to know as you are both my daughters."

I wasn't angry; Dione would figure out the truth eventually. She had honed her skills of getting things out of people on Karane, as Karane had honed them on me. It was especailly annoying when Link and I would get into trouble and get away with it, until we got home. Then Dione would get the truth out of us and make us go back and apologize for what we had done; the only incident she really let slide was when we accidentally push Groose, Stritch and Cawlin into the lake.

"Thank you," I said, giving her another hug.

"Take care."

We left Karane's house and headed towards the Statue of the Goddess taking the back route, avoiding the Knight Academy. We went into the cavern at the bottom of the Statue, past the pedestal in where the sword had been and up to the altar.

"Spirit Maiden, put the final piece into the altar," Fi said, appearing out of the blade and placing the shattered remnant into my hand.

I walked up to the altar and placed the fragment into the small opening, completing the tablet figure in the altar. Another beam of light, this one golden yellow, shot out from the tablet and disappeared through the wall. Both me and Karane raced out of the Chamber to witness the light open another hole in the cloud barrier, this one a light yellow color.

"Well," I said. "Let's go."

We ran outside and towards the nearest diving platform.

"Zelda, I can't let you leave," said a very familiar and snearing voice. It made us halt in our tracks.

Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch emerged from behind shrubs and bushes, blocking the diving platform.

"Move," I said.

"No Zelda," Groose said. "I want to know why you are avoiding me and why you and now Karane are zipping in and out of town? What is going on?"

"I don't need to tell you anything," I said. "You already know the anwser to your first question and yet are too dumb to see it. Didn't that slap I gave you the other day actually tell you why? So, if you can't get the anwser to your first question, why should I anwser the next two?"  
_**Spirit Maiden, what is wrong? Is that guy with the red hair getting in the way again?**_

_Bozo is blocking our way and we...Wait, are you monitering my thoughts now and seeing what I'm seeing?_

This was getting downright creepy.

_No, it's just taking you longer than usual. Plus I'm circling right above you. Is there something you want me to do?_

I wracked my brains trying to figure out what she should do.

"Zelda, why don't you anwser my question?" Groose said, approaching us. My anger was building and I swear I was ready to punch him in the face this time.

_Can't you do something?_

_**Like what?**_

"Groose move," Karane said, stepping in front of me. "We have field training to do. Now move or you will have to anwser to Headmaster Gaepora."

Groose was taken aback by her threat.

_Anything!_

_**You must really hate that guy. I'm coming, along with Needa.**_

Karane and I saw two dots zip by, unnoticed by Groose or his cronies. I elbowed Karane, who nodded, as we guessd what our Loftwings had in mind. Both of us edged towards the edge of the cliff, while Groose responded.

"Zelda can't we resolve this?" he said, adopting a reconiallary tone (if that was even possible).

"No," I retorted. "Not until you apologize for eveything you did to me and Link."  
I heard two large caws that caused the three in front of us to jump.

_**Now Zelda.**_

"What's that?" Groose asked, looking behind him.

"That," I said. "Is the sound of goodbye."

Both Karane and I jumped off the cliff. Our Loftwings were shooting up at a seventy-degree angle below Skyloft, and all we had to do was grab onto Needa and Vella's backs. Both of us hung on as tight as we could as Needa and Vella shot up past Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch, knocking all three of them over. Our Loftwings righted themselves and zoomed off into the sky towards the yellow beam of light. Both Karane and I held on, laughing uncontrollably. Before we knew it, both of us had tears rolling down our cheeks and we were both short of breath.

"Wo..w...neve..r tho...ugh..t I'd se...e that...," I said, gasping for air as I laughed my head off.

"M...e...nei...ther," Karane added.

took a roundabout way to the beam of light, checking behind us frequently to see if Groose and his buddies were following, but we saw no sign of them. We reached the beam of light and circled it. I looked down and saw yellow sand, like the kind that accumlated at the edge of the lake that covers a third of Skyloft.

"Well," I called to Karane. "Shall we?"

"After you," Karane said.

I leapt off into the beam of yellow light and began my descent to the Surface with Karane behind me, this time doing the skydiving properly.

"Spirit Maiden and Friend Karane," Fi said out loud this time as we descended. "Inflate your Skyclothes. I sense that it'll have a 80% chance of reducing injury."

Both Karane and I held out our Sailclothes, We flew up briefly, from freefalling, to floating laizly to the ground. I winced as a blast of heat hit us, seeing nothing but yellow and golden sand as far as the eye could see.

"Is this what our instructors said was a desert?" Karane asked.

"Maybe, I'm not sure."

Slowly we descended, with it getting hotter the closer we descended to the ground. When we landed, I heard an unfamiliar crunching sound emanating from beneath my feet. I kicked the sand and felt it settle inbetween my toes; it was hot!

"Hot!" I said, kicking the sand from out of my sandals.

Karane chuckled.

"You should've worn your boots," she said.

"How was I supposed to know that it was going to be hot?"

The sword at my waist vibrated and Fi came out of it. She turned and seemed to look at the desert for a brief moment before turning back to look at us.

"My Mistress and Friend Karane," she said. "This is Lanaryu Deseret. It was once a green oasis, but over the centuries it's turned into a desert. The hot rays will rapidly deplete your food and water supplies. I caculated a 70% chance if you minimize your time, it'll increase your chace of survival."

With that, she turned back into a ball of light and disappeared back into the sword.

"Well that's good advice," Karane said, looking around at the endless expanse of desert. "Now we have to find Link in this, and fast."

"Thank goodness for Drowsing," I said, pulling out the Goddess Sword. "Without it, this quest would be impossible."

"Hylia sure did know what she was doing."

"Yeah, she did."

It began to blink blue while I swung it around. When I pointed it to what I think is northwest, it began to blink uncontrollably. I hustled off in that direction, with Karane right behind me. The sun continued to bear down on us and before we knew it, sweating was beading on our foreheads and pouring down our backs (digusting!). To my surprise, my dress actually kept me (for the most part) cool, while Karane was sweltering. But despite this, it was still very stifling and sweat began to break out out all over my body (Karane was suffering as much as I was) glueing the folds of my dress to my legs. We both began to drain our water stores alarmingaly fast. After about an hour of just wandering to the northwest, with no sign of Link, we stopped to rest under a little shade that was provided by a large plateau.

"Now what?" Karane said, sweaty and clearly downhearted.

She took a closer look at me.

"Wait? Why aren't you sweating as much as I am?"

"I'm more cool," I said, wiping a boatload of sweat off of my forehead. "But I'm still sweating like crazy. This sun is intense."

"No kidding," Karane moaned. "I've never sweated this much in my life.

"And our water is getting low," I added, pulling out an empty glass bottle, only adding to Karane's misery.

To furthur compound the problem, Karane stepped backward and tripped over something poking up through the sand.

"Aaahhh," she said, falling onto her back.

It lit up, causing both of us to jump back and draw our swords. Experience had taught us (and Impa had taught me) that nothing is as it seems here on the Surface. A beam of light swept across the desert, turning it from a bright golden hue to _green_. Not just green, but pools of water appeared, along with the vegetation.

"What the?" I said.

"This tops anything I've ever seen," Karane said, amazed.

She bent down and touched the ground; I copied her. Sure enough it was true green vegetation, similar to the large grass patches that dot Skyloft.

The sword at my waist vibrated.

"Friend Karane," Fi said. "You have found what is a Timeshift Stone."

"Timeshift Stone?" Karane repeated, completely baffled.

"When hit it transports the remaining area back in time," Fi said. "These were mined centuries ago by a race known as the Ancient Robots."

"Ancient Robots?" I repeated, jarring my brain for any details.

A blur of images from the memories that had lodged themselves in my memories rushed through my mind containing images of an odd-looking tan, something, for lack of a better word. It had an odd shaped tan-colored body, black 'eyes', and some sort of blue something connecting it's hands to it's body. I pushed them to the back of my mind again; I had to focus.

"Fi, what's an Ancient Robot?" Karane asked.

Fi spun, creating a image of the creature that was in my memories in front of us, similar to the image of Link that had appeared on Skyloft.

"Ancient Robot; a mechanical unit that was created by the Goddess to mine Timeshift Stone for use in building."

"Building?" I said confused.

Fi moved until she was floating next to the stone.

"My Mistress, if you set your harp above the stone, my scans indicate it will turn the time back to the time of Hylia."

Both Karane and I just stared at her stunned. Time travel wasn't possible! But again, what wasn't possible two days ago has become possible, so I did what Fi directed me to do. Another beam of light, this one more intense that the one Karane had accidentally created erupted from the Timeshift Stone, causing me to let out a small squeak and jump backwards, along with Karane.

A beam of green energy exploded from the rock and radiated along the ground, as far as the eye could see. As the wave advanced, sand and rock melted away to reveal plants, rivers, and weird-looking flowers. Odd robotic remains reformed to become living Ancient Robots that immediately started scurrying around in the ground around us, digging into the sides of cliffs, unearthing Timeshift Stones and putting them in carts. Karane and I just stared around us stunned; this was beyond anything that either of us had witnessed so far, and that was saying a lot. I soon made a realization; the area looked exactly like some of the memories that had been forcibly put into my brain at the Springs.

One of them scurried right up next to us and took us in.

"Who're you?" it asked, uncertain of itself. "Humans aren't meant to be..."

It looked closer at us, at me in particular. It eyes suddenly widened and it began to 'run' around in circles, clapping it's hands.

"It's Her Grace and her Friend!" it shouted.

The Ancient Robots all around us instantly perked up and began to swarm to us to see if 'Her Grace' and her 'Friend' was actually there. Both Karane and I just looked at each other stunned; why were we suddenly famous?

"It is Her Grace!"

"It's so great to meet you."

"Thanks for saving us the other day."

"That battle was epic."

"Her Friend is here as well."

This continued on for at least five minutes as a parade of Ancient Robots formed and shook our hands. Karane and I just looked at each other repeadtly with eyebrows raised. Finally, the question that had been burning in my brain since this whole question burst to the forefront. I decided that these friendly Robots might finally hold the anwser.

"May I ask you a question?" I inquired.

"Sure, anything Your Grace," one of them said to me.

"This may sound weird," I said, being careful in how I worded the question. "Who is Her Grace?" I

The robot seemed taken aback that I'd that question.

"Why, it's you, Your Grace," the robot responded chuckling. "Hylia."

Karane and I froze; did that thing just call me the name of the White Goddess?

"So, are you saying that...that _I'm _Hylia?"

It blinked at me again.

"Hylia, why do you ask such silly questions, bless my circuits," the robot said, jumping up and down as it this was the greatest moment of it's life. "I've got to get back to work mining Timeshift Stones. We'll actually be seeing you tomorrow at the army assembled point."

The robots scurried away, leaving me and Karane stunned.

"Why are they calling me a Goddess?" I asked Karane.

Karane thought for a moment. She had a gift for aborbing surprises well, and this wasn't any different.

"Well first you do look like the illustrations in the ancient texts that had perserved what our ancestors thought Hylia looked like, epecailly in your white dress," she said. "I don't think you'll be able to get out of it."

"But I don't like it," I said. "Being mistaken for a Goddess, what could go wrong?"

"We'll worry about that if we get there," Karane pointed out. "Link should be your number one priority.

Karane was right; we really didn't have any other choice. We began to head towards the northwest again running into many more Ancient Robots. They did the same thing that the ones that had greeted us oringinally had done. One of them though, put the others to shame. It ran in circles, jumping round and around, shouting "Hylia" and "Her Grace" and "Her Best Friend" as we walked by; until it ran head first into a bluff and knocked itself out.

"This is getting out of control," I said when we were out of earshot.

"Actually, I don't think it is," Karane said. "Although, if you come here again, wear something else than your white dress. Maybe they could help us with more information about the area."

"Wait," I said, catching on to her idea. "Impa must've taken Link to somewhere sigificant in this area, like the Earth and Skyview Springs. Surely they'd know about it."

"You might be right on that," Karane agreed. "Let's find them again."

We began to search for more Ancient Robots. It didn't take us long to find a group of them, busily digging away, putting any Timeshift Stones they found into a mining car.

"Hey," I said to them, causing them to all look at me.

"It's Her Grace and Friend Karen," they all said in unison.

"Karen," Karane said, stunned again.

One by one they lined up to shake our hands, saying things like 'it's a pleasure to finally meet you' and 'we are willing to give all for you'. Once it had all died down (and they insisted on shaking Karane's too, saying that 'any friend of Her Grace is a friend of ours') we could finally ask them the question.

"Just so that Karane will know," I said. "What are the major landmarks associated with Hylia in this region?"

"The Temple of Time," one of them said immediately.

It turned to the northwest, the area to where we'd been heading and pointed in that direction.

"The Temple of Time," it said. "Just over that ridge there you will be able to see it."

"Thanks," Karane and I said together. "We'll, um, see you later."

We took both before the robots could respond. The two of us rounded a nearby green bluff and saw a magificant structure. It was framed by white and well maitained walls, with an enlarged symbol of the three triangle symbol carved out of stone; you could just see the top triangle rising above the walls. A single opening lead striaght into the temple. I pulled out the sword and pointed it in that direction. It began to blink quite rapidly, indicating Link was in that direction.

"Let's go...not again," I said.

At that moment, a wall of black fire erupted in front of me and Karane. A group of black diamonds flashed into existence, singaling the arrival of the person who I hated most. I knew who it was; rage and anger boiled within me, rising into my chest. I raised the Goddess Sword to the sky and swung it down at Ghirahim. He ducked and the Skyward Strike flew over him, crashing into a nearby bluff. Pieces of the wall and vegetation were blown clean off. Karane drew her weapons and we took our fighting stances that Eagus had spent years drilling into us.

On cue, all the Ancient Robots in the vicnity stopped what they were doing, took one terrified look at the intruder, saw what I did, and quickly bolted, taking shelter behind Karane and I.

"Help us Your Grace and Karen!" they all said in unison as they cowered behind us.

Ghirahim took us in, and drew his sword. But he made no threatening moves towards us, which baffled me.

"So, it's the clumsy girl and her friend again," Ghirahim said. "Always showing up at the wrong times."

"Welcome back diamond boy," Karane said.

A look of anger flashed across Ghirahim's face.

"What did you just call me?" he said, taking a step closer.

"Diamond boy," Karane said.

I jabbed Karane with my elbow to try to get her to shut up; I'd already insulted him once and made him very angry, which then resulted in a bloody fight. While it might've been appropiate then, now was really not the time. He was here which meant he was after Link. We needed to get to him first. But Karane ignored me.

"Because you are obessed with diamonds."

She did have a point; he did have diamond-shaped patterns over every inch of his body, including diamond-shaped earrings.

"I'm not here to listen to your insults," he snapped. "You are always in my way. Don't you remember my warning."

"Stay away from Link," I snapped, pointing the sword at his snarling face.

"How about a race," he said. "Whoever gets to the Temple of Time first gets the Hero. What do you say?"

Karane drew her sword and shield at charged, swinging wildly at him. He turned on the spot and vanished into a whirl of diamonds.

"We must get to the Temple of Time, fast," I said.

Both of us began running toards the large symbol of the Triforce visible over the cliffs.


End file.
